{"id":2458,"date":"2026-04-03T00:08:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T00:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/?p=2458"},"modified":"2026-04-02T19:24:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:24:03","slug":"mike-tirico-stepping-away-from-calling-the-masters-on-siriusxm-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/sports-media\/mike-tirico-stepping-away-from-calling-the-masters-on-siriusxm-for-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Tirico Stepping Away From Calling The Masters on SiriusXM for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
For the first time since 2022, a new voice will welcome golf fans to Augusta National on SiriusXM\u2019s comprehensive radio coverage of The Masters. Taylor Zarzour, the longtime backup play-by-play announcer and studio host, will step into the lead role when the tournament tees off on April 9, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

Where is Mike Tirico?<\/h2>\n
He replaces Mike Tirico, who is stepping away for the year after an extraordinarily demanding schedule that included calling Super Bowl LX for NBC last month, hosting the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, carrying the NBA\u2019s return to the network all season, and handling his usual Sunday Night Football duties.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tirico personally called Zarzour during Super Bowl week to deliver the news, according to The Tennessean\u2019s Mike Organ<\/a>. The veteran broadcaster made it clear this was Zarzour\u2019s moment and that he fully intends to reclaim the assignment in 2027. The gesture underscored the respect Tirico has for the man who has sat beside him in the booth for four years.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tirico had been SiriusXM\u2019s Masters<\/a> voice since 2022, bringing unmatched gravitas to the role. His deep ties to Augusta National stretched back nearly 25 years through his ESPN tenure. When he left ESPN for NBC in 2016, he gave up his on-site presence at the tournament. The SiriusXM gig became his way back inside the ropes, an opportunity he embraced with the same preparation and polish that define his network television work. Handing the microphone to Zarzour now feels like passing a torch within the same family.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Zarzour is more than ready. Since 2022 he has served as Tirico\u2019s backup play-by-play voice while also anchoring SiriusXM\u2019s pre- and post-round programming and calling featured-group coverage before the live tournament broadcast begins each day. The booth\u2019s structure gave Tirico the final calls on every hole, but Zarzour stepped in whenever a hole lacked a dedicated on-course reporter. That steady, year-after-year exposure to Augusta\u2019s rhythms\u2014its echoes, its tension, its sudden roars\u2014has prepared him for the biggest stage in golf radio.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

Get to know Taylor Zarzour<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
This will mark Zarzour\u2019s 17th year covering the Masters in various capacities. He will call all four rounds from a booth near the 18th green, the same vantage point that has become synonymous with the tournament\u2019s most dramatic moments. The Nashville resident joked with The Tennessean that he and CBS\u2019s Jim Nantz, another Nashville local and the longtime television voice of The Masters, might carpool to Augusta if the offer ever comes. The lighthearted remark highlights how closely intertwined the two broadcasters\u2019 lives have become in a city that now serves as home base for some of golf\u2019s most recognizable voices.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Beyond the Masters, Zarzour\u2019s r\u00e9sum\u00e9 continues to grow. Last year he became the radio voice of the NFL\u2019s Tennessee Titans, adding another high-profile assignment to his portfolio. He has also handled play-by-play duties in recent years for the SEC Network\u2019s college football and basketball coverage, proving his versatility across major sports.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
For SiriusXM subscribers, the change represents continuity rather than disruption. Zarzour already knows the format, the expectations, and the unique demands of painting pictures for listeners who cannot see the azaleas or the green jackets. His familiarity with the course, the players, and the broadcast team should ensure a seamless transition when the patrons gather once again under the Georgia pines.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Tirico\u2019s planned return in 2027 means this is not a permanent handoff, but a well-earned opportunity for Zarzour to shine on one of golf\u2019s grandest stages. For four days in April, his voice will carry the drama of Amen Corner, the electricity of the back nine, and the quiet reverence that only Augusta National can inspire. Golf fans who rely on SiriusXM for wall-to-wall Masters coverage will hear a broadcaster who has earned every word he speaks, and who has been preparing for this exact moment since the day he first sat down next to Mike Tirico.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the first time since 2022, a new voice will welcome golf fans to Augusta National on SiriusXM\u2019s comprehensive radio coverage of The Masters. Taylor Zarzour, the longtime backup play-by-play announcer and studio host, will step into the lead role when the tournament tees off on April 9, 2026. Where is Mike Tirico? He replaces […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5665,"featured_media":1673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[277,264,238],"tags":[75],"class_list":["post-2458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nbcsn","category-news","category-sports-media","tag-featured"],"modified_by":"Steve Carney","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5665"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2458"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2460,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458\/revisions\/2460"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}