Gary Player won nine major championships throughout his illustrious career, while Sir Nick Faldo racked up six, one more than Rory McIlroy currently has to his name.
Player has never been shy with voicing his opinion and interestingly, the same can be said for Faldo and, indeed, McIlroy.
So perhaps it should be no surprise that Faldo and Player had very differing opinions on something that McIlroy began doing back in 2015.
A decade ago Faldo suggested that McIlroy may find it hard to win majors regularly.
The Englishman predicted that the Northern Irishman would either cruise to 10 major wins or he would find himself stuck on four or five.
Meanwhile, Player made a prediction of his own about McIlroy back in 2023, suggesting that the now five-time major champion would win The Masters sooner rather than later.
However, Player took offence after Faldo criticized McIlroy for a specific change that he made 10 years ago.
The comments Nick Faldo made about Rory McIlroy which enraged Gary Player
Back in 2015, Player felt compelled to leap to McIlroy’s defence after something that Faldo said about the Northern Irishman.
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10 years ago, McIlroy embarked on a new fitness regime where he began lifting some serious weight in the gym.
Interestingly, it was Player who first advised McIlroy to get in shape after the Northern Irishman complained about back pain in 2009 (Daily Mail).
However, Faldo completely disagreed with the advice that Player gave McIlroy at the time regarding his workout regime.
The Englishman said: “Throwing 200lb and 300lb weights around is not going to be good for your golf swing.
“The heaviest weight I would ever lift was my body weight. You can play some pretty good golf when you have just got some decent shoulders on you and a strong neck and a strong pair of hands.“
South African golfing legend Player could not have disagreed more with Faldo, though.
Gary Player’s response to Nick Faldo’s criticism of Rory McIlroy
When told of Faldo’s remarks about McIlroy’s fitness regime, Player responded in typically uncompromising fashion.
He said: “It’s the height of ignorance. It is only because of ignorance. They used to condemn me and said I would never last. Well, here I am, outlasting them all.
“The night before I won the (career) Grand Slam (in 1965), I was exercising profusely, struggling with 325lb. Everybody said, ‘You can’t do that and then play golf. You’re finished, you’ll never have a long career’.
“Well, I won a tournament at 63.“
So, in Player’s eyes, Faldo’s comments on McIlroy were borne out of ignorance.
In fairness to the Northern Irishman, he has proven over the past 10 years that training hard in the gym was in fact the correct call, with 31 worldwide professional wins to his name since 2015, including one major championship.
He has also played his part in three victorious European Ryder Cup teams.
The game of golf has evolved into a sport whereby remaining in peak physical condition is non-negotiable, and Player spearheaded that revolution back in the 1960s.
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