Tag: Marc Player

Gary Player has ‘taken action’ against son, Marc, for trophies, memorabilia up for auction

This isn’t the first time the South African legend has been forced to publicly deal with a dispute with his family.

If you thought you were going to be able to get your hands on some Gary Player collectibles via an auction, guess again.

On Monday the nine-time major champion released a statement saying he has “taken action” against his son and former manager, Marc Player, after several trophies and other memorabilia were put up for auction.

“I would like to draw the public’s attention to the fact that several trophies and other pieces of memorabilia that form part of my legacy have been put up for auction by my son and ex-manager, Marc. These items belong to me and I have taken action to recover them. I have placed no items for sale – whether by auction or otherwise,” the statement read via Player’s Twitter account.

Golf fans will know that this is far from the first time the South African legend has been forced to publicly deal with problems with his family.

Back in 2020, the Hall of Famer was awarded $5 million as well as the rights to his name and likeness as part of a settlement with Marc, who operated the Gary Player Group.

Wayne Player, who missed the cut in each of his 18 PGA Tour appearances from 1979-1986, hijacked the first-tee ceremony at the Masters in 2021 by holding up a sleeve of golf balls as a marketing ploy while Augusta National honored the legendary Lee Elder. That also wasn’t Wayne’s first fiasco at Augusta. He was arrested and spent five days in jail on a fraud charge stemming from the week of the 2018 Masters after being charged with deposit account fraud/bad checks greater than $499.

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Gary Player’s son thinks he should decline Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump

Gary Player’s son thinks his dad should decline the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Donald Trump.

On Wednesday afternoon chaos hit the United States Capitol Building, resulting in the deaths of four Americans. On Thursday morning a Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony was scheduled to take place just blocks away.

After the original ceremony in March was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Annika Sorenstam and Gary Player were slated to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump at 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday morning in the East Room of the White House. Babe Didrikson Zaharias is also receiving the award posthumously.

One of Player’s six children – his eldest son, Marc – thinks his nine-time major champion father should politely decline the award, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

This isn’t the first time Player and his son have publicly butted heads.

“It is with great sadness that both my personal and business relationship with my father has deteriorated to the extent that it has,” said Marc in a June 2020 story that detailed an ownership and naming rights dispute between Player and the Gary Player Group, his company operated by Marc.