He Cheated
Posted November 24th, 2004 by Erik J. Barzeski
Gary Player a cheat? What's the world coming to?
Gary Player cheated, so they say:
Recent conversation on RSG about Gary Player. What started off as a fairly innocent question - "Just how did he win all those majors?" - became colored instantly when someone dropped the hammer with two words.
"He cheated."
Gary Player, a common cheat? I didn't want to believe it. This same Gary Player…
…is a firm believer in doing things the right way. He recalls a time when he could have gotten away with a minor rules infraction. Instead, he reported his innocent error and was disqualified from a tournament he easily could have won. "If I had not turned myself in, I would have had to live the rest of my life with the knowledge that I had cheated… Much better is the feeling I have today that even though I left a trophy and check behind… I still have my dignity and honor."
What's going on here?
The Scotsman.com reports on another incident involving Gary Player:
Cheating is the great unmentionable in professional golf and until this summer the most notorious rumour in golf was that Gary Player had cheated his way to victory in the 1974 Open Championship, courtesy of his caddie dropping a second ball at the 71st hole after the South African hit his tee-shot in the rough. It is unmentioned no more.
How did he cheat? The first story provides some more details.
Eventually, the details came out… apparently one of Player's favorite tricks when he missed a fairway was to pull out a fairway wood and take a stance behind the ball - tamping the grass down - and then "changing his mind" and deciding to hit an iron. Obviously, this'll prevent the twisting irons are subject to when you're hitting down on a ball in the rough - and if you tamp it down enough, you might even be able to give yourself a clean lie that you could pick. That shot just became twenty times easier.
Again, the evidence was sketchy, until one of the posters weighed in - one who spent a lot of years covering the tour in the media. Gary's got the reputation, alright, he said; more than one long time pro talked about it from time to time. Tom Watson called him on it at one of the early Skins games, with a very Watson-esque "Gary, we're gettin' sick of this shit."
So there it is. The words "cheat" and "Gary Player" together.
Wow.
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Posted 24 Nov 2004 at 12:27am #
Gary Player was one of my heros in golf, and life in general for that matter. I always said if there's one person who I'd like to be as fit as when I'm in my sixties, it's Gary Player. To me, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Seve Ballesteros made up the golden age of golf which no era could hold a candle to. Now with Seve facing possible assult charges and these new allegations on Gary, the golden era is slowly turing to lead. . . I guess sometimes ignorance really is bliss
Posted 24 Nov 2004 at 9:46am #
Don't lose all hope, Joe. The allegations against Seve are pretty weak, and a Google search on Gary Player turned up more stuff about Ken Venturi calling Arnold Palmer a cheat in the '58 Masters than it did on Gary Player.
Posted 20 May 2005 at 3:15pm #
Gary Player wants to take away the metal clubs used by pros and put wooden clubs in their hands. Our reaction? Nice knowing you, Gary. Have fun in La La Land.
Posted 26 May 2007 at 12:57am #
tom watson does not take the game of golf lightly, nor does he make commentary without being confident of the facts and his beliefs. it took guts to call gary player out - player knew most would not - and, by the way, watson's pedigree ranks above ballesteros', though seve and faldo are right behind.
Posted 13 Apr 2008 at 8:38pm #
This this the worst kind of journalism. There is not one shred of evidence substantiating the allegations against Gary Player. To anyone reading this reply, please go back and carefully reread the articles referenced and look for specifics. You will find nothing except unsubstantiated assertions.
Posted 13 Apr 2008 at 8:45pm #
hr martin said on April 13, 2008:
I don't think Tom Watson would agree with you on that. Relations between him and Gary remain strained to this day.
I agree the allegations are weak, but they're out there just the same.
Posted 15 Apr 2008 at 4:40pm #
Erik, thanks for your reply. I know the allegations are out there. When Watson made his comment about Player, it was not Watson's finest hour. When you consider the high degree of respect and friendship Palmer and Nicklaus extend to Player, that has to far outweigh Watson's petulant comment in the minds of golf fans. Now that Watson is older and presumably wiser, I hope he clears the air with Player before it's too late.
Posted 15 Apr 2008 at 6:45pm #
hr martin said on April 15, 2008:
I don't know that you can say that. You weren't there, and I don't think Tom Watson's integrity can really be questioned. Just as you're here trying to defend Gary, I'll defend Tom Watson in that regard. If Gary was well known for doing as Watson suggested, finally calling Gary on it isn't a bad thing.
Neither of us can really know, though, so that about ends that.
Posted 15 Apr 2008 at 9:10pm #
Agreed. It was a pleasure having this dialogue with you. Cheers.
Posted 23 Dec 2008 at 10:21am #
Having played golf for 30 years now I can still remember my Father talking about Gary Player Cheating in The Open. He was there and seen it with his own eyes. I'll never look at Player again with anything but contempt!
Posted 04 Feb 2009 at 11:19am #
There's another incident. A few years ago, I want to say it was the British Open, perhaps the Senior British Open, and Player asked for an official to observe while he, Player, identified his ball in the rough, as the rules allow. Player picked up his ball, "identified" it, then replaced it. Only thing is, his ball was sitting noticeably higher in the rough after this identification. Peter what's his name, Aliss, was the commentator, along with somebody else, and the two got very quiet, the only comment being Aliss's, "Very interesting."
Posted 06 Mar 2009 at 5:15pm #
Being a South African myself, I am disgusted in Gary Player for cheating in the 1970 Open Championship. If he was more of a man, and stopped praising himself, he would have admitted to cheating.
All his fans want to deny this, but only two people know he cheated Gary and his Caddy. How they live with it, only they know, what a shame.
Posted 11 Apr 2009 at 11:06am #
I happened to play the Tour during Gary's heyday, and there were rumors about his 'bending' the rules all over the place. Many players, not just Watson, knew of his ability to create or improve lies to benefit his performance. Though Peter Kessler did a fairly extensive interview on the Golf Channel with video of the incident at the '74 Open Championship (where Rabbit Dyer found Player's ball seconds before he would have had to declare it lost), nothing definitive was ever produced to disprove his credibility. However, if you watch the video, on the next hole (the 18th and 72nd hole of the championship), Player clearly cheated when his ball came to rest next to the clubhouse. Forced to play a shot left-handed with his putter, he took an initial address over the ball and then looked to the gallery on the roof and asked them to be still so that their shadows didn't distract him. Then, he addressed the ball again, and made a mock practice stroke....an exaggeratedly long stroke, that moved about an inch of soil directly behind the ball in the process. There is no denying this one, as it is as plain as the nose on his face. This improved his lie considerably, and he should have been given a two stroke penalty. To me, that kind of infraction is so obvious to those of us in the profession, it clearly brings the lost ball back into question. I have my doubts, and fear that Rabbit did plant it.
Posted 26 May 2009 at 7:28pm #
These stories are quite a shame. For some reason I have the image of Player being one of the most self-righteous players in the game. I never really liked him, and now I think I know why. Not only is this a disgrace to the entire golfing community, but it is a huge blunder on his celebrated career. Lie detector test???? lol.
Posted 13 Jun 2009 at 12:58pm #
of course gary player was a cheat everone in those days knew it ,but the little man that wore black helped the pga in those slow years the pga needed him thats why he got by with cheating not all the time did he cheat but ever golfer back then jack arney and the rest knew he was a cheat
Posted 14 Jul 2009 at 12:15pm #
I have seen the video of the '74 Open championship and it is clear as day. In fact, the R&A members gathered in the balcony above Player as he moved soil on his practice stroke saw it as well. They are clearly heard commenting on his infraction. Once a cheater, always a cheater. Throw in Watson's allegations, Dave Anderson's article, etc, he is a discredit to the game of the worst kind...
Posted 20 Jul 2009 at 2:26pm #
hey,southpawhack your right hes a cheat once a cheat always a cheat, tom watson didnt cheat this week at the british open . but you no what tom watson has the golf gods looking after him not that little cheat that wears black.
Posted 04 Oct 2009 at 1:46am #
Gary Player cheated to win the 1974 British Open.
His second shot landed in deep rough well to the right of the 17th fairway about 100 yards short of the green.
Another ball was found about 60 yards from the green in lighter rough. Player hit the ball claiming it as his.
The story does not end here folks....
....A ball with the identical markings of Player's was later found by local members of Royal Lythan and St Annes at a distance of about 100 yards from the green.
The ball that was found in the deep rough (where witnesses watched Player's ball enter the thickett of bush) was presented to Open officials. Not much the officals could do although, as Player's scorecard was signed off.
Apparently the ball was displayed somewhere quite public (possibly in the R&A museum) with the words "Mr Player.... the ball?"
Player has never responsed respectfully to "the ball" claim.