AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods is in pain, Gary Player says, and he doesn’t blame him for taking medication.
But Player said he shouldn’t be driving a car.
“When you’re taking that medicine, it’s dangerous when you’re driving a car, same as it’s dangerous when you look at your cellphone in the car,” he said. “There’s 6,000 accidents a day in motor cars.
“So I think all he’s got to do is just not drive a car and get a chauffeur. My reflexes, I think, are as good as when I was 20, but I don’t drive anymore. I get a chauffeur. I think that’s the answer to it.”
Player’s comments came Thursday morning at Augusta National, after the nine-time major winner, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson hit ceremonial tee shots to start this year’s Masters. On March 27, Woods was involved in a two-car crash near his home on Jupiter Island, Florida, he was arrested and he was charged with misdemeanor DUI charges, in which he has pleaded not guilty. On March 31, Woods said he was “stepping away” to seek treatment.
The 15-time major winner had been trying to get ready to play in the Masters, which would have been his first tournament play since the 2024 Open Championship. On Thursday, Player was asked what advice he would give to Woods.
His answer lasted over 2 minutes.
“You know, it’s very easy, the human being is so critical of everything,” Player said. “If I or any of you in this room had the pain that Tiger Woods had — think of the excruciating pain that this man has been going through for a long time.
“I personally think, in my opinion — if I’m right or wrong, I’m sorry — but he was trying to be a Navy SEAL scout for a while. Funny enough, I had a friend who was a Navy SEAL scout. He said this long ago: He said Tiger will really suffer in the future with his back and with his legs. Look what’s happened? I think it’s 20 operations on either the back or the legs, but many, many operations on his leg and his back. So he’s in pain.
“Do I blame him for taking medicine? Hell, no. He has sleep deprivation. Do I blame him for taking something to help him sleep? No. But I don’t think he should drive a car.”
Player said his “heart goes out” to Woods.
“There’s nothing worse than living in pain every day of your life,” he said. “You can’t think of anything worse. I just hope he can get it all sorted out because he’s such an asset to golf and has done so much for the game.
“There was never — when we were young people, there were no Blacks playing the Tour, guys. I remember going to Charlie Sifford in 1957, and I said, Mr. Sifford, how did you play today? He said, I’m not allowed to play, I’m Black. So I experienced apartheid in South Africa and in America. Tiger comes along, and you realize what he does for the Black man around the world, you can never work out what he’s done for golf. So my heart goes out for him.”