Masters champions son banned for life after | Golf News

Honorary starter Gary Player will once again take part in the ceremonial opening tee shot at the Masters event on Thursday, but he’ll do so without his son, Wayne. An incident at the 2021 version of the event led to his son receiving a lifetime ban from Augusta National.

Three-time Masters winner Player, who has captured 9 major championships in complete, has been a staple of the honorary starters custom since 2012, teeing off alongside icons such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Tom Watson to formally start the event.

However, the 2021 ceremony positioned Player at the middle of controversy, thanks to his son Wayne, who was serving as his caddie. That 12 months, Augusta National was honoring Lee Elder, the pioneering African-American golfer who turned the first of his race to compete in The Masters back in 1975.

Yet the second was marred as Elder stepped onto the tee box, when Wayne, now 61, pulled a blatant advertising stunt. He positioned himself behind Elder – who tragically died later that 12 months – during his introduction, brazenly displaying a box of OnCore golf balls, a model that sponsored Player.

Observant followers have been fast to call out Wayne’s actions, and Augusta National wasted no time in responding, revoking his event credentials and issuing a everlasting ban from the course.

Augusta National declined to publicly handle the incident or the following motion taken against Player’s son. Wayne mentioned the incident in a 2022 interview with Golf Digest, stating: “Well, they say there’s no such thing as bad publicity. I found out that that’s not quite true.

“I had most likely 50 texts after that, 40 of them said I’m a advertising genius, 10 have been like, ‘What the hell have been you pondering?’ It wasn’t premeditated, but it was a cheesy factor.

“I don’t mind letting people know. To be completely transparent, I think it is a cool story because, you know, the National never really came out formally and said, ‘Oh, we’re not allowing Wayne Player to come back to the Masters.’

“They never ever said that to the media. That’s just the way in which they do it. They do not say a lot.”

Despite writing a letter of apology after the incident, Wayne was unsuccessful in having the ban overturned. “It said thanks but no thanks,” Player remembered of the club’s response.

“It said, you already know, we admire you reaching out and apologizing, we settle for your apology, but we aren’t altering our place, we aren’t going to enable you back. You ruined a particular second in the historical past of the sport of golf.”