GARY PLAYER is an Augusta legend – but his son Wayne is banned from the golf club for life.
Player, 90, won three titles in the 1960s and 70s, making him one of only eight men in history to wear the green jacket more than twice.
Gary Player was back at the Masters for the honorary starters ceremony this yearCredit: PA
Player’s son, Wayne (left), is banned from AugustaCredit: Getty
The has even been selected to tee off in the honorary starters ceremony every year at Augusta since 2012.
He was back this year alongside fellow golfing legends Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson.
But it was not, as it turns out, fun for the whole family.
That is because his youngest son, Wayne, has been permanently banned from Augusta since 2021.
Wayne, 63, whipped up a storm five years ago during a tribute to Lee Elder – the first-ever black player at the Masters.
As the cameras panned to Elder, Wayne, who was stood close by, held up a pack of golf balls made by the company his dad, Gary, endorsed.
And Augusta chiefs did not take kindly to his brazen attempt at ambush marketing.
Wayne recalled in a 2022 interview with Golf Digest : “Well, they say there’s no such thing as bad publicity. I found out that that’s not quite true.
Player won his third green jacket in 1978Credit: Getty “I had probably 50 texts after that, 40 of them said I’m a marketing genius, ten were like, ‘What the hell were you thinking?’
“It wasn’t premeditated, but it was a tacky thing.”
Wayne, who featured in 17 events during his own golf career, even wrote a letter of apology to the club chairman.
But all that came back was a brutal snub.
He added: “[Their letter] said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’
“It said, ‘You know, we appreciate you reaching out and apologising, we accept your apology, but we are not changing our position, we are not going to allow you back. You ruined a special moment in the history of the game of .'”
Wayne says Elder, who died in 2021, told him “I love you” after calling him up to apologise.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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