{"id":587984,"date":"2026-02-13T21:51:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T21:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/587984\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T21:51:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T21:51:14","slug":"we-made-augusta-gary-player-blasts-masters-host-over-rejected-request","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/587984\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We made Augusta’: Gary Player blasts Masters host over rejected request"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ben<\/p>\n

Masers honorary starter Gary Player criticized Augusta National in a new interview.Ben Jared\/PGA TOUR via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Over the course of World Golf Hall of Famer Gary Player\u2019s legendary career, few places have held more importance than Augusta National<\/a>. And few tournaments have been more special than the Masters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But this week, Player, a three-time Masters champion<\/a> and longtime honorary starter, offered a rare public criticism of the club. The criticism, leveled in an interview with Golf Monthly<\/a>, arose from Augusta National\u2019s alleged rejection of Player\u2019s request to play a round with his grandsons at the historic course.<\/p>\n

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Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n

Gary Player criticizes Augusta National over round with grandsons: \u2018They won\u2019t do it\u2019<\/p>\n

Player, 90, captured nine major titles in his career, including three Masters wins in 1961, 1974 and 1978. He, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus were known as the \u201cBig Three\u201d pro golfers of their era, all making their mark at Augusta.<\/p>\n

Beginning in 2012, Player joined Palmer and Nicklaus as honorary starters at the Masters, a tournament he has played more than anyone else. He maintains that role to this day.<\/p>\n

But unlike Palmer and Nicklaus, Player was never granted membership at Augusta National. While his past champion status allows him the privilege to play Augusta, because he is not a member he is not allowed to bring guests to play alongside him.<\/p>\n

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\"Gary<\/a><\/p>\n

Gary Player, who criticized the Ryder Cup recently, celebrates a tee shot at the 2025 Masters.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the source of Player\u2019s animosity toward the club, which he explained in his Golf Monthly interview<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been an ambassador for Augusta for all these years, yet they won\u2019t let me have one round of golf in my life with my three grandsons,\u201d Player lamented. \u201cMy grandsons are dying to know about their grandfather\u2019s episodes on that golf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued by claiming any other major championship host course would have accepted Player\u2019s request, but Augusta rejected him, blaming the decision on the club\u2019s \u201ccurrent management.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the golf courses that have hosted the Open [Championship], the U.S. Open and the PGA [Championship] would oblige, but they won\u2019t do it at Augusta,\u201d Player argued. \u201cIt is just this current management there, but these are the times we live in and I accept it, but I accept it with sadness.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Player went on to sing the praises of Augusta National co-founders Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, as well as President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a notable member of the club, arguing they set the foundation for what the club became.<\/p>\n

He continued by claiming that he, Palmer and Nicklaus then \u201cmade Augusta\u201d with their inspired play at the Masters in the 60s and 70s.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Jones, Roberts and Eisenhower], they basically made Augusta. Then Arnold [Palmer], Jack [Nicklaus] and I came along and we fought it out every year, and then we made Augusta thanks to the coverage and publicity we generated around the Masters, whether the club likes to admit it or not. They won\u2019t admit it, but we made Augusta.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gary Player\u2019s history of controversy at Augusta National<\/p>\n

This is not the first time Player has complained about his lack of privileges at Augusta National.<\/p>\n

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In 2023, he said he was \u201cdisillusioned\u201d<\/a> over how difficult it was for him to play there with a guest.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people assume that I have those privileges, but they\u2019re wrong. If I want to play a practice round with friends, I can\u2019t just call the pro shop and make those arrangements,\u201d Player said at the time.<\/p>\n

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\"Gary<\/a><\/p>\n

Gary Player addresses the media during the 2025 Masters at Augusta National.<\/p>\n

To play with a guest, he needs to find a full-fledged Augusta National member to host, a project he claimed was \u201cnot easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked to rate the four men\u2019s majors in order of importance earlier in 2023, Player said \u201cnever mind the Masters\u201d and ranked it last.<\/p>\n

\u201cI rate the Open [Championship] at one, the U.S. Open two, PGA [Championship] three and Augusta four; Four marvelous tournaments,\u201d Player told the UK Daily Mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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At the 2021 Masters, Player\u2019s son Wayne got in hot water for an impromptu golf ball advertisement during a ceremony honoring Lee Elder. Wayne was reportedly banned from Augusta National for life<\/a> over the incident.<\/p>\n

Then in 2022, Player filed a lawsuit against his son, Marc, and grandson, Damian, for selling some of his golf memorabilia<\/a>. Among the memorabilia items were Players\u2019 1974 Masters trophy and the shoes he wore in his 52nd Masters appearance. Player claimed he did not authorize the items to be sold.<\/p>\n

The post \u2018We made Augusta\u2019: Gary Player blasts Masters host over rejected request<\/a> appeared first on Golf<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Masers honorary starter Gary Player criticized Augusta National in a new interview.Ben Jared\/PGA TOUR via Getty Images Over…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":587985,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[47],"tags":[25261,30494,62289,1430,31150,203939,1442,62,254447,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-587984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-arnold-palmer","tag-augusta-national","tag-gary-player","tag-golf","tag-jack-nicklaus","tag-kevin-cunningham","tag-masters","tag-sports","tag-three-time-masters","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116065539531780881","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587984\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}