Gary Player - Controversy

In July 2007, a media controversy emerged over his statements at The Open Championship golf tournament about the use of performance enhancing drugs in golf. Subsequently, the PGA Tour introduced a formal policy.

Player has almost always "spoken his mind" and been considered a controversial albeit frank and forthright professional golfer. He has been a pioneer of diet, health and fitness although he upset the Atkins Diet organisation by disagreeing with their "all protein" approach. He was branded a "traitor" by South African Nationalist Government supporters for inviting and bringing both black tennis pro Arthur Ashe and golfer Lee Elder to play in South Africa. He was the first golfer to call for mandatory drug testing on all tours around the world.

In 1966, Player was quoted in a book entitled Grand Slam Golf in which was written, "I am a South African, a nation which is the result of an African graft on European stock and which is the product of its instinct and ability to maintain civilized values and standards amongst the aliens".

Player apologised profusely about this statement, saying he was a young man who never proof read the book's manuscript prior to going to print and that the quote was never made by him but rather the writer of the book. It is believed that Player's attitude towards the apartheid regime is very different today and has so far raised over 100 million dollars through his foundation to support under-privileged education in South Africa during apartheid.

In 2002, Player designed a golf course in Burma, named by the developers, The Pride of Myanmar, currently frequented by tourists as well as generals of the army. There are unsubstantiated accusations that the land for the courses was seized from poor farmers without compensation. Regardless, as a designer Player had nothing to do with how the land was acquired.

Player has hosted the Nelson Mandela Invitational golf tournament since 2000. In October 2007, further media controversy arose about his involvement in the 2002 design of a golf course in Burma. As a result of the recent political uprisings in Burma, the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund has withdrawn from the fundraising golf tournament because of Player's unsubstantiated business links with the country. Both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have however accepted Player's position and statements on Burma. Player refused to withdraw as he personally built the event from scratch and issued a statement rebutting these claims via his website. The event is now annually staged at the Fancourt Resort as the Gary Player Invitational and is South Africa's largest and most successful charity event, having raised a record amount of over R250 million for various children's charities.