BBC Masters coverage heading for long grass

BBC TV executives are poised to ditch its 56-year association with the Masters amid cost-cutting efforts. The opening golf major of the season is two months away but there has been no word of an extension to the contract that ran out last April. An 11th hour deal could be salvaged, but sources indicate the BBC is moving towards cutting ties with the tournament it first broadcast in 1967. If it does pull the plug it will add substance to the growing conviction that the BBC has lost interest in golf. Sport: Page 1