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.