Gary Player joined the German KW Golf YouTube channel to discuss various topics, including his health, fantastic golf courses, exercise, golf coaches and the difference between pros and amateurs.
But most interestingly, he voiced his opinion on Tiger Woods’ career and how the Big Cat’s choices saw him underachieve, relatively speaking of course.
Starting at 8:45 in the video, Player dropped the microphone.
“Tiger Woods had his career ruined, completely ruined,” Player said. “He won the 14th major at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He won by 14 shots. The next week, he’s having a lesson from a man who, I don’t know if he played in the Masters, couldn’t break 80, but he’s having a lesson from this guy.”
He did not stop there. The 88-year-old explained how Woods continued to make what he deemed poor decisions.
“Then he goes to another guy who couldn’t break probably 85 in the Masters, with the pressure or the British Open or the PGA on the final day, and he’s having lessons from them,” he said. “Why did Tiger do that? He was so good, but I understand he wanted to get better. If he went along and never changed, he would have won a minimum of 22, maybe more.”
“He would have gone down as the greatest athlete the world has ever seen, man or woman on the planet, but he made the wrong decision,” Player said.
Player goes on to state there are at least 20 players that have screwed up their game because of their swing coach choices. He named Trevor Immelman, Mike Weir, Michael Cameron and Woods as a few examples.
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Photo by Augusta National via Getty Images
Tiger won his 15th major in 2019 at the Masters, taking home the green jacket for a fifth time. After that, the horrific 2021 car crash set him back.
“Unfortunately, he’s hurt his leg so badly. Whether he’ll win another tournament or not is debatable,” Player noted.
The 24-time PGA Tour winner explained how he will always root for Tiger because of how he changed golf.
Player did not drop any swing coaches’ names, but those who have followed Tiger’s career likely know who he is hinting at ruining the 82-time winner’s career. Regardless, he voiced a strong opinion that will certainly create some discourse.
Did Woods ruin his career by changing his swing so many times, or were injuries and other elements causing him to underachieve as a golfer? Sound off in the comments, and let us know what you think.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.