At the 2021 Masters, Michael Eaves will be busy – he will be anchoring SportsCenter coverage from there, he’ll be hosting a two-hour preview show on ESPN+ on Tuesday, and – in a big change – he will be doing the post-round players interviews during ESPN’s live coverage on Thursday and Friday, in the role held formerly by Tom Rinaldi, who left ESPN. Michael has over 25-years of experience in media, yet, this is his first assignment covering the Masters and he’s beyond excited.
“I’ve done Super Bowls, I’ve done Final Fours, and last year I covered the Olympics for the first time,” he said.
Michael is very knowledgeable about golf – has covered it for ESPN for years, both via SportsCenter and in person at events – and at former jobs in TV. He’s been playing the game for years, having been introduced to it as a child by his father.
“My dad got me involved in the game at a very young age, and I always remember the beginning of golf season growing up in Kentucky when it became Spring, we were watching the Masters,” he said.
“I’ve been watching this tournament since I was seven or eight years old, and know every hole on the golf course just from television,” Eaves said. “And then finally to get here and see it in person has been a lifelong dream of mine.”
Eaves got his first look at Augusta National when he arrived Monday morning.
“Everyone tells you the exact same thing when you come here for the first time, that you can’t believe how beautiful it is until you see it in person,” he said. “And that’s absolutely true – just looking at that grass and how perfect it is, and the bunkers how white they are – everything that people say about this place is true, and it doesn’t do it justice until you see it in person.”
Eaves had covered professional golf during every stop of his professional career before he joined ESPN. Last year, when Tiger Woods was attempting to make a comeback from back surgery, Eaves returned to the sport when he reported on Woods for SportsCenter from several tournaments.
