Gary Player Jul 11, 2022; St. Andrews, SCT; Gary Player gestures to the fans on the first hole during the R&A Celebration of Champions four-hole challenge at the 150th Open Championship golf tournament at St. Andrews Old Course. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

After the conclusion of the PGA Tour season at last weekend’s Tour Championship, a new round of players announced they were defecting for LIV Golf.

That included reigning British Open champion (and current world #2) Cam Smith, arguably the best young player so far to make the leap to the Saudi-backed upstart league. Many who have made that jump have come under fire from the press and some of their fellow players, but today saw one of the game’s all-time greats weigh in on the subject.

South African legend Gary Player won nine majors en route to capturing the career Grand Slam, and while he’s not without his own controversy, Player certainly didn’t pull any punches when going after Smith, Henrik Stenson, and others for joining LIV in a BBC interview.

On LIV’s lack of competition:

“How can you ever be a champion playing a tour with 54 holes and no cut?”

On Cam Smith’s decision:

“Here’s a young man I really thought was going to be a superstar. Now what sort of future does he have?”

On Henrik Stenson, who abandoned his Ryder Cup captaincy for LIV:

“I don’t blame Stenson for going. He had no money, so he had to go.”

Player’s comments are perhaps even more surprising considering he’s a Golf Saudi ambassador himself; none of his commentary appears to hinge on the morals of the situation. Rather, Player is focusing on the golf itself, something that so far has taken too little criticism. Nick Faldo made similar comments about LIV when Brooks Koepka announced his departure a few months ago.

LIV Golf is holding another event this weekend in Boston, and if the golf is anything like the graphic design work in the buildup, Player’s points will probably look prescient.

Player is just the last person you’d expect to be delivering an anti-LIV rant at this point. It’s a sign that the players who cashed in might end up financially comfortable, but there’s no angle from which they might not come under fire in the golf world going forward.

About Jay Rigdon

Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.