All being well, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player will be able to perform what has now become their customary function and get the 2023 Masters underway at Augusta National in April in their roles as honorary starters at the tournament. By way of a reminder, Nicklaus (who turns 83 later this month) and Player (who is 87) have won the Masters six times and three times, respectively. April 6 is therefore a date for them to look forward to – which is nice, because 2022 brought each of them less welcome news.
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In the summer, Nicklaus was named (and shamed?) on the Celebrity Jets Twitter account for using a private plane to take a 21-minute flight from Westhampton Beach in New York to Providence, Rhode Island. At a time when (at least intermittently!) there are myriad calls to be aware of the environment when making travel plans, it was estimated that Nicklaus’s journey would have released about two tonnes of carbon dioxide. To put that into context, it’s approximately half the total annual carbon footprint of the average person worldwide. To be fair to the Bear, the trip is much shorter when it’s done the way a crow would do it: the waters of Long Island Sound mean it’s 110 miles by car, around three hours. I suspect, however, that Greta Thunberg would not accept that as an excuse? (And you don’t want to cross Greta; the arch-misogynist Andrew Tate had a go at her on social media just after Christmas and promptly found himself locked up by the Romanian police.)
Then just last month, Player issued legal proceedings against his grandson, Damian, alleging he had either sold or attempted to sell items belonging to the nine-times major champion. This followed a similar lawsuit filed in Florida by Player earlier this year against his son Marc, Damian’s father. Gary Player claims several items have been sold at auction against his wishes, including his trophy for winning the Masters in 1974, which went for over $520,000 in 2021.
Meanwhile, back at Augusta National, on December 20 the club chairman, Fred Ridley, issued a statement regarding the field for this year’s Masters. In part it read: “Through the years, legends of the game have competed and won at Augusta National Golf Club. Champions like… Gary Player, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have become heroes to golfers all ages. They have shown respect for those who came before them and blazed a trail for future generations. Golf is better because of them.”
Then to the ‘but’. “Regrettably, recent actions have divided men’s professional golf.” Yes, LIV, he’s talking to you. Ridley added: “Although we are disappointed in these developments, our focus is to honor (sic) the tradition of bringing together a pre-eminent field of golfers this coming April.” And then to a second ‘but’. “We will invite those eligible under our current criteria to compete in the 2023 Masters Tournament… any modifications or changes to invitation criteria for future tournaments will be announced in April.”
One has to figure the club’s present inclination is that there will be changes for 2024.
You can follow Robert Green on Twitter @robrtgreen and enjoy his other blog f-factors.com plus you can read more by him on golf at robertgreengolf.com
