19th Hole

Gary Player defends LIV players saying ‘they need the money’

Published

2 years ago

Jun 13, 2022

“A lot of people are giving a lot of opinions, and know a hell of a lot about nothing!”

So says nine-time major champion Gary Player in an interview with Sky Sports News last week, in which he refers to the spat between the traditional tours and the new, rebel LIV golf series as something that “saddens me is to see the fighting that is going on and it’s unnecessary.”

Related: ‘This is uncomfortable’ – LIV press conference gets heated with reporter ejected

Speaking about the decisions of the 48 players that signed for the first LIV event that finished on Saturday, Player was quite clear with his thoughts.

Related: Pat Perez’s wife goes on wild rant after husband joins LIV Golf

“But remember this, the players who are playing there now, they need the money. They’ve got families and I don’t blame them for playing there. There’s not a lot of them who can win on the regular tour anymore, so they are wisely taking the money.”

“There is a place in the sun for both tours. I just hope they settle everything in an amicable way and we go from strength to strength because golf is a passport to the world.”

On the day that Patrick Reed signed up to the rebel tour, Sky Sports News asked Player whether he felt the majors would accommodate those that have opted for the Saudi-backed series. His response was that, “I don’t know what the majors are going to do”, although we now know that the USGA has allowed all qualified players – LIV bound or otherwise – to take part in this week’s US Open at Brookline.

Admitting that the PGA Tour has the best players in the world, he defended the right to choose, saying, “If they so desire to play the LIV tour which is their choice and their freedom…..freedom is on the wane around the world, so they still have their freedom to choose and we should be grateful for that.”

“But…you can’t have both tours, you can’t do that, it’s not going to be allowed according to the rules, as far as I know.”

The 86-year old winner of the 1965 US Open considered there may be lawsuits – “I don’t know” – and concedes that, “you can’t have your cake and eat it.”

“I’d like the people that are playing this tour just to be open and say, ‘Look, I’m playing here because I want to make some money, I have a family’. There’s no disgrace in that. But you can’t have your cake and eat it.”

“Every businessman has a choice to say that….look, I’m leaving because I’m making more money…and don’t forget, the best players will always come from the US tour because that’s where all the international top players are playing.”

Speaking from St. Andrews, home of the 150th Open Championship in July, the three-time Masters champion was asked if he felt players would reconsider their options, should all the major championship organisations refuse to allow them in.

“No, once you’ve made the decision, that’s final, as far as I’m concerned. But remember this, the LIV tour does not have a points system that will enable you to keep playing the tours, so I don’t know what’s going to happen in the majors. If you’re not playing the majors, or the regular tour, where are you going to get your points to give you, and qualify you, to play the majors?”

“This is far more complicated than people make it out to be. A lot of people are giving a lot of opinions and know a hell of a lot about nothing.”

A known associate of Saudi Golf, Player was then asked if he had any reservations about the regime before becoming involved with them.

He responded, “Who are we to criticise people for human rights?” He continued, “If you look at what’s happening around the free world — killing policemen, killing people, burning cities down, shooting children, stabbing people. Are we really in a position to criticise people around the world?”

“People in glass houses mustn’t throw stones. We live in a world where everything is either lawsuits, quick to criticize, people on phones having nothing better than to do, media that manufacture stories.”

“We live in a very strange world today, it’s a very different world.”

"A lot of people are giving a lot of opinions, and know a hell of a lot about nothing!"

9-time major champion Gary Player gives his views on the ongoing dispute over the LIV Series pic.twitter.com/sM6idkAXXQ

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) June 11, 2022

Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.

Butch Harmon on what he worked on with Rory:

“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make…

— Matt Vincenzi (@MattVincenziPGA) May 15, 2024

“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”

The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.

Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.

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19th Hole

Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.

“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.

“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.

“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’

“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.

“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”

Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.

Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:

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Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, a man was charged in Chicago with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia from Augusta National last month.

The man, Robert Globensky, was charged with transporting the memorabilia across state lines.

The report states that between 2009 and 2022, Globensky allegedly transported “millions of dollars’ worth of Masters golf tournament merchandise and historical memorabilia” from Augusta National “and transported to Tampa, Florida, knowing the same had been stolen, converted and taken by fraud.”

The document was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Since then, more details have emerged about the case.

According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.

The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.

Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”

The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.

Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.

The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.