Son Of Legendary Golfer Banned From Attending The Masters After Shamelessly Promoting His Father's New Sponsor
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Wayne Player, son of legendary golfer Gary Player, has been barred from attending future Masters events after pulling a publicity stunt that can only be described with one word: Shameful.
58-year-old Wayne has copped a barrage of criticism for shamelessly promoting his father's latest sponsor during the competition's opening ceremony last week.
And when you see the damning footage of incident, it's safe to say that there was absolutely nothing discrete about it.
Wayne Player has been banned from Augusta for shamelessly promoting his father's latest sponsor. It's just such a shame that his sycophantic, egotistical, greedy, self serving, I love me who do you love father wasn't given the same treatment! pic.twitter.com/xwAzdz1oIJ
- GaryEvans (@garyevanspro) April 13, 2021
The ceremony itself at the Augusta National was to pay tribute to Lee Elder who was the first black golfer to compete in the Masters.
Fellow legends Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were also invited to attend the Honorary Starters Ceremony.
A great golfer, celebrated at a great tradition.
- Cameron Brodie (@_Cameron_Brodie) April 8, 2021
Less could be said for Gary Player's caddie trying to flog golf balls in the background https://t.co/1zm0SyPt3F
And with the prestigious service well underway, it didn't take long for golf fans watching from home to notice a familiar face standing directly behind 86-year-old Elder while he was sitting down near the first tee.
Wayne Player had conveniently positioned himself within camera shot alongside Elder.
And without any consideration (or respect) for the historic moment that was unfolding right in front of him, Wayne was seen holding a box of OnCore golf balls right in front of his chest.
It's understood OnCore have been one of Gary Player's major sponsors for the last few years.
People attending the ceremony at Augusta probably didn't catch onto it, but golf fanatics watching from the comfort of their own homes certainly didn't miss it.
And, unsurprisingly, Wayne found himself on the wrong end of an absolute bollocking from fans when footage of the moment spread like wildfire on social media.
It was meant to be a special moment to golfing icon Elder but unfortunately it was marred by some embarrassing behaviour.
Not only did his grand marketing ploy backfire massively, but the stunt also got Wayne banned from attending the Augusta National and The Masters tournament in the future too.
Agreed. Wayne has since correctly been banned from Augusta National and The Masters tournament. What a shame. What an embarrassment. What a bad decision to allow him on the first tee after years of similar shenanigans. My apologies to all.
- Marc Player (@Marc_Player) April 12, 2021
After being slated online, Wayne later came out and apologised for his actions.
"The only thought from that point was that it would be cool for fans to know what ball my dad was teeing off with," he told Golf Digest.
"That's where it ends. If I've hurt people's feelings, then I'm truly sorry and hope they will forgive me."
They cropped out Wayne Player's ambush marketing in the re-airing of the Lee Elder clip! Hell yeah! https://t.co/YvWKDxCYAA
- No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) April 8, 2021
The caddie is apparently Wayne Player, Gary's son. He's previously been arrested for fraud and charged with battery in incidents relating to renting a house at the Masters and selling Masters tickets. How was he even allowed in?!
- Kit Alexander (@KitOnTheCourse) April 8, 2021
Even his own family weren't best pleased.
It didn't take long for Wayne's brother Marc to issue a public apology on behalf of his sibling.
"Wayne has since correctly been banned from Augusta National and The Masters tournament," Marc tweeted.
"What a shame. What an embarrassment. What a bad decision to allow him on the first tee after years of similar shenanigans. My apologies to all."
