In 1973, Peter Oosterhuis was three strokes up on the Masters field going into Sunday.

But 74 strokes later, Oosterhuis, then just 24 years old, was in third place - losing the tournament to Tommy Aaron, who shot a 68.

``I wasn't mature enough to handle the final 18 at Augusta on Sunday,'' he said.

This week, Oosterhuis - now 52 - is back at the Augusta National Golf Club for his fifth year of commentating for CBS Sports, which will broadcast more than five hours of the tournament today and Sunday. It's the network's 46th consecutive year broadcasting the tournament.

The coverage, which airs on local affiliate WRDW-Channel 12 (Comcast-Channel 10), runs from 3:30 to 6 p.m. today and from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday.

At Augusta National, Oosterhuis is stationed at the 17th green, one he says gets little respect or notice from golf fans.

``The 17th has really been overlooked for years,'' he said, sitting in a CBS golf cart overlooking the Par-3 Course behind the network's compound at the Augusta National. ``But it's a significant hole because some players can win the tournament with a birdie there.''

Oosterhuis will cover 21 tournaments this year for CBS, serving as lead analyst with Jim Nantz for the network's golf coverage.

``I enjoy being a part of ... the CBS team,'' he said. ``And it's very gratifying when people come up to me and say, `I enjoy your work.'''

Prior to his broadcasting career - which began in 1994 with British Sky Broadcasting - Oosterhuis played professional golf for more than 15 years, including 11 years on the PGA tour. During that time, he amassed more than 20 victories worldwide.

He played in 12 Masters, making the cut nine times and shooting a low round of 68 in 1973. And that gives him a little more insight into what's really happening between the ropes at the tournament.

``I have an understanding of what's facing a player as far as the difficulty of the course, what's there that's deceiving the player and what are the things that are easily overlooked by the spectator at home,'' he said.