Gary Player released a series of controversial statements just days away from his 90th birthday but the most bizarre one of them all pertained to Bobby Jones.
And Jack Nicklaus will undoubtedly be in disagreement with Player‘s remarks about Jones – one of the greatest golfers of all time.
Nicklaus and Player enjoyed a great rivalry on the golf course throughout the years.
However, when they both began their professional careers, it was Jones who they would have looked up to.
That’s what makes the South African’s latest comments on the seven-time major champion so hard to believe.
Player described Jones as just ‘an amateur’, when naming his three greatest golfers of all-time.
He said: “When they judge players, it’s quite interesting, they put Bobby Jones and Arnold (Palmer) ahead of me.
“You can’t tell me that an amateur golfer has a record that I have in golf. His record is not close to mine.
“You look at Arnold’s record, it’s not close to mine. I won more majors than Arnold. I won more tournaments than Arnold. I won more senior majors. My stroke averages were better. He didn’t have the record, and he was my brother.
“But I love the fact, in a way, that they do that, because what he did for golf, and I grew up with him, he was supreme. Jack is number one, Tiger number two, and I’m number three.
“There’s not even a question.”
Jack Nicklaus will disagree with Gary Player’s comments about Bobby Jones
Nicklaus clearly has a very different view of Jones’s golfing achievements than Player does.
Before Nicklaus won his first major championship in 1962, he described Jones as the ‘greatest golfer who ever lived’.
The Golden Bear said: “Jones is the greatest golfer who ever lived and probably ever will live. That’s my goal. Bobby Jones. It’s the only goal.“
Then more recently, Nicklaus named Jones as part of his very own golfing Mount Rushmore alongside himself, Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan.
Whenever the 18-time major champion talks about the greatest players in the history of the game, he always mentions Jones.
Conversely, Player seems to have a chip on his shoulder that his record is not spoken about as much as the four-time US Open champion’s is.
Really, it shouldn’t be Player telling everyone that he is the third best golfer of all time.
That’s something for golf fans, journalists and other players to decide.
Bobby Jones had a remarkable record in the game and is one of the greats
Jones won five US Amateurs and the British Amateur championship all in the space of just seven years.
He also won seven professional major championships during an eight-year period from 1923 to 1930, consisting of three Open Championships and four US Open titles.
Jones, who sadly passed away in 1971 at the age of 69 never turned professional, and retired in 1930 at the age of 28.
He was the co-founder of Augusta National and The Masters tournament and most of his income came from his profession as a lawyer.
Jones passed the bar in 1930 after retiring from playing golf and went on to join his father’s law firm.
Had he devoted all of his time to playing professional golf after the age of 28, there really is no telling how many majors Jones would have won.
For Player to be so disrespectful to Jones is not only insulting, but quite frankly tone deaf.
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