Gary Player: Golf needs a black champion
Gary Player has never been one to mince words.
At the Berenberg Gary Player Invitational in Virginia Water, England this week, the 79-year-old Player told Omnisport the following, regarding the struggles of Tiger Woods:
"We need Tiger Woods. Why? He's a man of color. We need a black champion. Go to Africa, where we've got all these young black kids used to seeing a white guy as the champion. Now they're getting inspired; they're sitting in front of their TV sets. It inspires them; it gets them interested in golf. Asia wants to see a man of color. So there are many reasons besides being so charismatic. I don't know if anybody in the world today can play like Tiger Woods did."*
*[#image: /photos/55c3b03a4759c60c08234d5c]|||150722-player-518.jpg|||Woods is in the midst of a swing change, the fourth of his career. This alteration was a point of contention for Player:
"He won the U.S. Open by 15 shots and was having a lesson the next week. He's had lessons from four people or five people who really are not that good at playing. You've got to go for a lesson with someone who has been in the arena. If I want to know about business, I'll go to a businessman, I'll come to you for good interviews; everyone has got their skills. But Tiger Woods, he needs it overall — mentally, physically and theoretically — so he can get back to normality."
Woods is coming off an embarrassing performance at the British Open in St. Andrews, posting rounds of 76 and 75 to miss the cut.