Gary Player Names Jordan Spieth Best Golfer in World But With 'Tragedy'
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Jordan Spieth's run this year has been anything but smooth. After finishing 38th at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and slipping to 54th in the FedEx Cup standings, the three-time major winner now finds himself outside the top 50 for the second consecutive year.
His Ryder Cup hopes hang by a thread, sitting at No. 28 in the U.S. standings, with no more chances to prove himself after failing to advance.
Amid this uncertainty, nine-time major winner Gary Player has stepped in with a bold and brutally honest assessment.
Gary Player makes a bold claim about Jordan Spieth being the best golfer in the world. (Image Collage | Collage: Getty Images)
Gary Player makes a bold claim about Jordan Spieth being the best golfer in the world. (Image Collage | Collage: Getty Images)
During his recent appearance on 'The Golf Supply's YouTube video, Player came clean about his thoughts while discussing swing mechanics and the state of modern coaching.
The golf legend declared that Spieth is the best golfer in the world. But with a "tragedy."
"Jordan Spieth, I think, is the best golfer in the world," Player told 'The Golf Supply'. "But in my opinion, he was taught the wrong thing. And he just went downhill."
Player's critique centered on the swing fundamentals and what he sees as a widespread flaw in American golf instruction.
"There is a tremendous lack of knowledge with golf," he stated in the video on YouTube. "I would say in America today the golf pros that are teaching know less about golf. They have all the equipment and the technology, but they are teaching golfers to do this at the top. But you can't -- once you do that, you are gone."
He referenced legends like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer to illustrate his point.
"Jack won majors for 25 years. I won majors for 20 years. Palmer won for six years because he was shut. Look at Dustin Johnson. You haven't heard of him. When was the last time you heard of Dustin Johnson?"
Player believes Spieth's swing mechanics, specifically his club position at the top, have limited his potential.
"You've got to get the club and your hands under the club," the three-time Masters winner exclaimed as quoted.
He went on to praise Spieth's competitive spirit and course management, calling him "a wonderful man" and "a wonderful guy for golf."
"He's such a competitor, such a wonderful man. A wonderful guy for golf, the best short game, best course management but he just can't hit the ball. That is a tragedy."
Player's comments come at a time when Scheffler is dominating the PGA Tour, having won three majors in the past 14 months and leading the Ryder Cup standings. Yet, for Player, raw talent and mental toughness still outweigh recent results.
Spieth, meanwhile, remains optimistic. "Next year's going to be a really good year for me, I can feel it," he shared while talking to reporters during the Wyndham Championship. "One good offseason should get me nailed down to where I could be as good as I've been. That's my goal."
🚨👀⛳️ #NEW — Jordan Spieth predicts that he can get back to the top of his game in 2026. 'Next year's going to be a really good year for me.. I can feel it.' pic.twitter.com/m4HsAzvgLW — NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 30, 2025
Whether that comeback materializes remains to be seen. But if Gary Player's words carry weight, and they often do, Jordan Spieth's story is far from finished. It's just waiting for the right swing.
More Golf: Rory McIlroy Discloses Real Reason for Sitting Out Playoff Opener
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
34 minutes ago
- Fox News
MLB's Rob Manfred teases realignment with expansion, baseball fans torch idea
Print Close By Ryan Gaydos Published August 18, 2025 MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred floated the possibility of breaking up the American and National Leagues and realigning teams based on geography. Manfred appeared on ESPN's broadcast of the Seattle Mariners and New York Mets game, which took place in front of Little League baseball players in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON "In my mind, I think if we expand, it provides us with an opportunity to geographically realign. I think we could see a lot of wear and tear on our players in terms of travel," Manfred said. "And I think our postseason format would be more appealing for entities like ESPN because you'd be playing up out of the east, out of the west. And that 10 o'clock time slot where we sometimes get lost in Anaheim, would be two West Coast teams. That 10 o'clock slot that's a problem for us sometimes becomes a real opportunity for our West Coast audience. "I think the owners realize that there's demand for Major League Baseball in a lot of great cities. And we have an opportunity to do something good around that." Manfred said that he hoped to have two teams picked out before he retires in 2029. MLB believes that Nashville, Tennessee, and Salt Lake City could be the next expansion cities, according to USA Today. Baseball fans weren't exactly thrilled to hear Manfred talk about realignment. The National League was founded in 1876 and the American League was formed in 1901. The historical aspects of the sport is what adds to the beauty of the game. YANKEES BROADCASTER DAVID CONE REVEALS SECRET BEHIND HIS LEGENDARY 'CONEY-ISMS' COMMENTARY STYLE It's unclear how realignment would look. Former MLB general manager Jim Bowden floated an idea back in May 2023. He predicted in an article in The Athletic that MLB could move to an Eastern and Western Conference format "consisting of four geographically-aligned divisions apiece. Four teams per division, 16 teams per conference." The Eastern Conference would consist of the East Division (Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies), North Division (Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays), Mid-Atlantic Division (Baltimore Orioles, expansion team, Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals) and Southeast Division (Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, expansion and Tampa Bay Rays). CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Western Conference would consist of the Midwest Division (Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins), Southwest Division (Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers), Pacific Coast Division (Colorado Rockies, Athletics, Seattle Mariners and San Francisco Giants), West Division (Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres). Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter . Print Close URL
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ryder Cup Tracker: Bryson DeChambeau, Robert MacIntyre among new qualifiers
We're less than two months away from the Ryder Cup, and the rosters are starting to take shape. Six players each from the United States and Europe will automatically qualify their way onto the team, with another six selected by each captain. The final automatic American spots were solidified after last week's BMW Championship, while the final European spot will be determined after this week's British Masters. Here's what we know: [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Locked in United States: As expected, DeChambeau, English and Henley all earned their way onto the U.S. squad without having to worry about a captain's pick. DeChambeau wasn't able to earn points given that he's on the LIV tour, and won't be able to join the rest of the team for a tune-up in September, but he's good to go as an automatic pick. English finished at T12 in the BMW Championship this past weekend, and Henley finished a stroke behind him to come in at T15, so both continue to turn in solid performances. Europe: It wasn't a great weekend for MacIntyre inside the ropes; Scheffler ran him down for the win, and American fans heckled him into frustration. But he did qualify for the European team — not a shock, but still nice to hear — as did Hatton, who finished out his string on the season's LIV tour. In position to qualify automatically United States: The United States has closed out its automatic qualification, which means everyone now is fighting for the attention of captain Keegan Bradley. Europe: Straka and Lowry will both make the team, so there's not a whole lot of drama here. Both are in the field for this week's Tour Championship, so that might determine who gets the automatic bid and who gets the pack-your-bags phone call. Both are having strong seasons and will be reliable performers on foreign soil. In contention for captain's picks Each captain — Bradley for the U.S., Luke Donald for Europe — will have six picks, and here's where it gets interesting. Do you select a player who's performed well in lower-stress events, or a player with a spottier resume but performs big under pressure? Do you go with a talented rookie or a Ryder Cup veteran? Do you go with … yourself? (More on that in a minute.) Here are some of the notable faces who can count on a captain's pick: United States: Morikawa and Thomas have solidified their status on the team. Meanwhile, Griffin, despite a bizarre creatine-overdose hiccup early on Sunday at the BMW, remains in position for a bid of his own. The more interesting questions lurk just outside the top 12, where a trio of reliable performers — Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns — all lurk. Which of those will play their way into the top 12, or into captain Bradley's good graces? Europe: Europe has an enviable deep bench, with Åberg, Højgaard and Hovland ready to test the mettle of the American squad and the keyboards of the American media. The key for European captain Luke Donald is figuring out how to incorporate players like, say, 14th-ranked Marco Penge of England, who plays well on the European Tour — two wins already this year — but has little to no experience in golf on American soil. Standings Unites States 1. Scottie Scheffler2. J.J. Spaun3. Xander Schauffele4. Russell Henley5. Harris English6. Bryson DeChambeau7. Justin Thomas8. Collin Morikawa9. Ben Griffin10. Maverick McNealy11. Keegan Bradley12. Brian Harman Europe 1. Rory McIlroy2. Robert MacIntyre3. Tommy Fleetwood4. Justin Rose5. Tyrrell Hatton6. Shane Lowry7. Sepp Straka8. Rasmus Højgaard9. Ludvig Åberg10. Viktor Hovland11. Matt Wallace12. Matt Fitzpatrick The big question: Will Keegan Bradley pick himself? Bradley is already one of the most fascinating figures in Ryder Cup history — shunned by then-captain Zach Johnson in 2023 despite dedicating himself to the pursuit of a Ryder Cup spot, he was suddenly elevated into the role of captain for 2025. The Ryder Cup captain is generally a player with his best on-course days behind him, but Bradley has kept his run going, playing himself all the way up to 10th in the U.S. standings. If he were 'just' a player, he'd be a no-brainer for the team. But now, he has a choice to make: Will he pick himself as a player, and be a playing captain? Will he leave the spot for someone else? Will he select himself and abdicate the captain role? Each option would be second-guessed no matter what happens at Bethpage in September. It's just one of many fascinating elements of this year's Ryder Cup … and we're still weeks away. Bradley finished T17 this past weekend at the BMW, which is right in line with this entire season ... a strong performance, but not strong enough to justify an automatic slam-dunk pick of himself, given all that comes with it. Combine that with the fact that Rory McIlroy revealed this week that he declined a chance to be a playing captain, and, well ... the picture is becoming no more clear. Bradley will tee it up this week at the Tour Championship, where he no doubt will hear fairways full of "U-S-A!" chants ... but will his performance in Atlanta be enough to push him one direction or the other? Chances are: Nope, he's going to have to make this decision all on his own.
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sports betting roundup: Football bettors gear up, Scottie Scheffler wins again
Football bettors can rejoice: college football is back. Saturday marks Week 0, with a handful of notable games on deck. The NFL preseason has also given bettors a chance to get back in the game. In addition, the FedEx Cup playoffs on the PGA Tour continued, and it was another exciting weekend of MLB action. Lastly, there were tons of good fights Saturday at UFC 319. Trends of the Week While the second week of the preseason wasn't at the same pace as the first week, underdogs and overs continue to be the trend in the NFL preseason at the BetMGM online sportsbook. As of Monday, underdogs are 19-12 against the spread, while overs are 22-9. The Bears blew out the Bills 38-0 Sunday night as 3-point favorites. Despite going against one of the best teams in the AFC, Chicago drew 58% of the money against the spread betting and 60% of the money on the moneyline (-150). Khamzat Chimaev (-275) won the main event at UFC 319 against Dricus Du Plessis. Chimaev took in 24% of the bets and 55% of the money. Scottie Scheffler won for the fifth time this season at the BMW Championship, the second event of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Scheffler had the best odds to win going into the tournament at +240 and took in 11.5% of the bets and 17.4% of the money in pre-tournament outright winner bets. The underdogs and overs dominated the first week of the NFL preseason. Through 16 preseason games, underdogs have gone 12-4 against the spread, while overs are 14-2. Upsets of the Week The Brewers entered Sunday on a 14-game win streak and were +105 against the Reds. Milwaukee was the most bet team in terms of number of bets and money, but in the end fell to Cincinnati 3-2 in 10 innings. The Brewers scored two runs in the top of the ninth to take a 2-1 lead before the Reds tied it in the bottom half. Coming Up With the college football season officially getting underway this weekend, here's how the national championship odds look as of Monday: ___ This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook. ___ AP sports:
