NEWSGolf Legend Gary Player's Son Banned From 2021 Masters After Using Ceremony For Promotional Stunt — See The Internet's Response
Paying the price.
Wayne Player, the son of golf legend Gary Player, caused quite the ruckus at the kickoff of the 2021 Masters — and is now facing the repercussions for using his dad's prominent title for a promotional stunt.
The 2021 tournament kicked off with the long standing tradition at Augusta National Golf Club with the Honorary Starters Ceremony. The 24-time PGA Tour winner and three-time Masters champion Gary, who has been a part of the ceremony for ten years, was joined by Wayne, who served as his caddie for the Masters this year.
While Lee Elder — the first Black man to ever compete in the tournament — was being honored during the ceremony, Wayne seemingly decided to promote his dad's latest sponsor, OnCore golf balls, as he stood behind the famed player.
In light of his stunt, Wayne's brother, Marc, tweeted on Monday, April 12, in response to CBS Sports’ Kyle Porter that Wayne has been banned from Augusta National and the tournament.
"Wayne has since correctly been banned from Augusta National and The Masters tournament. What a shame. What an embarrassment," Marc wrote. "What a bad decision to allow him on the first tee after years of similar shenanigans. My apologies to all."
Wayne has since elaborated on what he was thinking at that moment, claiming there was "no intent" to advertise the brand.
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"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 on Friday, April 9. "That’s where it ends. If I’ve hurt people’s feelings then I’m truly sorry and hope they will forgive me."
This isn’t the first time Wayne got himself in hot water. In 2018, Wayne was arrested and charged with deposit account fraud following a rental agreement he made on a house for clients during the Masters that year, Fox News reported.
After the video of the Honorary Starters Ceremony circulated, many social media users shamed Wayne for using his dad's spotlight as a guerilla marketing tactic to promote OnCore.
Scroll through to see the internet's reaction to Wayne 2021 Masters' stunt.
