'I believe I'm third best golfer of all-time and there is a clear reason Tiger Woods is not No. 1'
Gary Player sparked debate after ranking himself third-greatest golfer ever, placing just Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods ahead of him
Golf icon Gary Player is confident in himself, and in a recent interview, he has firmly placed himself third in the all-time list of greatest golfers, behind Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. The South African legend did not scramble or hesitate on his words.
“Jack is number one, Tiger number two, and I'm number three," the 89-year-old said. "There's not even a question." Player also made it explicit that his ranking list is based entirely on achievements and statistics.
“How I judge the best players of all time is I say, 'there's the record book,'" Player said about the 85-year-old Nicklaus. "That's the only way. It's the record book that's on paper. And Nicklaus has got the best record. There's no question.”
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“If Tiger Woods had made the right choices, he would have been the greatest player that ever lived.
“But the worst saying in athletics, in sports, is if. Because if is immaterial. It's the bottom line.”
Player then mentioned himself in the top three, but gave a strong reasoning.
“When they judge players, it's quite interesting, they put Bobby Jones and Arnold (Palmer) ahead of me," the South African said.
"You can't tell me that an amateur golfer 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.
"But I love the fact, in a way, that they do that, because what he did for golf, and I grew up with him, he was supreme."
Player's nine major championships are tied for third most, and are just two more than Jones and Palmer. Player won 24 times on the PGA Tour in 449 starts, while Palmer won 62 times on the PGA Tour in 703 starts
Player is approaching his 90th birthday, and his perspective spans over six decades of professional golf experience.
He’s captured over nine major championships in his career, achieved the career grand slam, and recorded over 150 professional wins worldwide.
Woods had his seventh back surgery at the beginning of this month. Player placed Nicklaus over Woods mostly for having 18 major wins, and many more major runner-ups at 19 while Woods only has seven.