The English stepped gleefully aside Tuesday at the British Open to watch a flap transported to Royal Birkdale from the United States. South African Gary Player, who now lives in Longwood, Fla., has lambasted Tom Watson in Player`s biography, which has just been released.
Watson is not pleased.
The pair have had confrontations before, most notably at a Skins Game in Arizona in 1983, when Watson accused Player of plucking a blade of grass from behind his ball-a violation of the rules. In the book, ”To Be The Best,”
Player claims he merely tugged once at the grass to see if it were dead or still attached to the turf. When he found it attached, Player says, he played the ball as it was.
Player takes Watson to task most seriously for unknowingly using clubs with illegal grooves during the 1977 season, when Watson won the British Open and the Masters. Jack Nicklaus finished second in both. Player suggested Watson might have considered giving up the titles.
Watson said he won`t react until after the British Open-if he reacts publicly at all.
