Gary Player says the best golfer in the world is not Scottie Scheffler and it’s a ‘tragedy’ what’s happened to him

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Gary Player has made an extremely bold claim about who he thinks is the best golfer in the world, ahead of Scottie Scheffler.

Player is a highly-respected figure in the game due to his impressive résumé, which features nine major championships and 24 PGA Tour wins.

The 89-year-old is immensely knowledgeable about the game.

Back in April, Player correctly predicted that Rory McIlroy would win the Masters before the tournament had even begun.

Player also regularly shares tips for amateur golfers who are looking to improve their games.

He is a student of the golf swing, and very well-educated when it comes to all departments of the game.

With that in mind, something he just said about a problem with modern-day coaches is very interesting indeed.

And Player thinks one PGA Tour star is even better than Scottie Scheffler, but has just been led down the wrong path.

Gary Player says Jordan Spieth is the best in world, not Scottie Scheffler

Player is quite clearly a huge fan of Jordan Spieth.

In his heyday, the 32-year-old was the best player on the planet, and he won three major championships from 2015-2017.

However, he has been an absolute shadow of his former self over the past few years.

Spieth actually still has ambitions to return to number one in the world, but that seems to be a long way off right now.

And during an appearance on The Golf Supply YouTube channel, Player explained how Spieth has been taught the wrong thing – something that has stopped him from winning many more majors and regular PGA Tour events.

The South African explained: “There is a tremendous lack of knowledge with golf. I would say in America today the golf pros that are teaching know less about golf. They have all the equipment and the technology but they are teaching golfers to do this at the top. But you can’t once you do that you are gone. Jack Nicklaus won majors for 25 years, I won majors for 20 years, Palmer won for six years because he was shut.

“Look at Dustin Johnson. You haven’t heard of him. When was the last time you heard of Dustin Johnson? The minute you go like this, your golf career is limited. You have got to get the club and your hands under the club.

“What they are doing, they did it with Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler. Now those two guys. Jordan Spieth I think is the best golfer in the world but in my opinion he was taught the wrong thing. And he just went downhill. He went downhill. If you had a man like Ben Hogan teaching Jordan Spieth he would be the best in the world. He’s such a competitor, such a wonderful man. A wonderful guy for golf, the best short game, best course management but he just can’t hit the ball. That is a tragedy.“

Wow, quite the claim from Player there. Spieth was the best golfer in the world from 2015-17, that’s fairly undebatable.

However, Scheffler is streets ahead of his fellow Texan now, and the same can be said for the likes of Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele and many more.

Which players have closed club-faces from data golf rankings top 10

Many of the top 10 golfers in the game right now play with a closed club-face at the top of their swings.

However, the best in the world gets the club in a neutral position at the top.

Here are the club positions of the top 10 golfers in the world, according to Data Golf:

The position of the club-face at the top of the swing is usually dictated by the player’s grip.

For example, DeChambeau has an incredibly weak left-hand grip, so his club-face is naturally open at the top of his swing.

And the opposite to that would be someone like Dustin Johnson who has a really strong left hand grip, leading to a shut club-face.

The beauty of the game of golf is that there is no ‘right’ way to swing the club.

And Player’s insistence on Spieth’s downfall being his shut club-face at the top of his swing is a dubious one to say the least.