Gary Player Reveals How $9,000 Contract Completely Disrupted His Relationship With PGA Tour Legend

There is no doubt that Gary Player is one of the best golfers in history. But imagine what a golfer he would have been if he had been trained by Ben Hogan. The Black Knight had the opportunity to fulfill that dream. He had caught the attention of the Wee Iceman back when he was just starting out. But as Player himself admitted, one critical move he made in his career completely changed his dynamic with Hogan.

Recently turned 90, the South African legend joined Adam Schupak for an interview with Golfweek. That’s when the reporter asked him why Hogan refused to help him when he was starting off. Player told Schupak, “I got on very well with Mr. Hogan. He said to me, “You’ll be a great player one day, son.” He offered me a contract for $2,000 a year. This was 1958. The same day, I got an offer for $9,000 from Dunlop. I had a wife and a child, and I needed the money.”

Gary Player & his wife, Vivienne Verwey, got married in January 1957. They were due their first child just before the South African pro won his first major, The Open Championship, at Muirfield. As much as he wanted to learn from Hogan, Player needed the money to support his family. And so he chose to sign with Dunlop. However, that ended up costing him as he realized the consequences some time later.

“A friend of mine and I were discussing the backswing at a tournament in Brazil and I said the man who knows the most about the golf swing is Ben Hogan and my friend said, “Why don’t you call him?” I said, “You don’t do that. You just don’t.” And he said, “C’mon, don’t be a chicken.” So, I called him and said, “Good evening, Mr. Hogan.” He said, “Who’s that?” I told him it was me. He said, “What can I do for you?” I said, “I’d like to ask you something about the swing?” Dead silence. I said, “Hello?” He said, “I’m still here. I’m going to be real curt with you, fella. Who do you work for on Tour?” I said, “Dunlop.” He said, “Call Mr. Dunlop.” And put the phone down!”

It was evident to Player that Ben Hogan wasn’t too happy that he didn’t accept the offer. Who wouldn’t be after all the records he had broken at the time. He had the second-most major wins in history behind Walter Hagen at that point. With the likes of Jack Nicklaus & Tiger Woods still to emerge, the only active player Player could compete with was Hogan. In the end, the 90-year-old did end up winning just as many majors in his career. But we can only imagine what would have happened had Player been trained by the Hawk.

Despite that, Gary Player still managed to build his own legacy. He may have missed a golden opportunity, but so did Ben Hogan in mentoring someone who could have broken many more records in golf. Having said that, there are still some legends he did outperform. And he’s surprised that people think they are better golfers than him.

Despite missing out on Ben Hogan’s guidance, Gary Player still managed to surpass golf legends

Yes, he may regret not choosing to train with Ben Hogan in 1958, but Gary Player still enjoyed an outstanding career. He ended up winning 24 PGA Tour titles, which included 9 major wins. The South African legend also became a career Grand Slam winner, an achievement only 6 golfers in history have accomplished. After achieving all that he has, Player was upset that there are people who still think Arnold Palmer & Bobby Jones are better than him.

In an interview with CBS Sports, he had stated, “They put Bobby Jones and Arnold ahead of me. You can’t tell me that an amateur golfer [Jones] has a record that I have in golf. His record is not close to mine. You look at Arnold’s record, it’s not close to mine. I won more majors than Arnold. I won more tournaments than Arnold. I won more senior majors. My stroke averages were better. He didn’t have the record, and he was my brother.” On paper, it was clear that Gary Player was the better golfer. So it does come as a surprise that he’s not compared to Ben Hogan more often instead of his brother, Arnold Palmer.