Gary Player Believes Jordan Spieth Is World's Best, but Blames This 'Tragedy' for Struggles

Gary Player is one of the greatest golfers ever, and at 89 years old, he’s doesn't mince his words.

So who caught the most sound-off from the nine-time major winner? Jordan Spieth.

Spieth’s season ended last week after finishing outside the top 50 in the PGA Tour’s season-long FedEx Cup standings. After undergoing wrist surgery last summer, Speith returned in late January and posted four top 10s in 19 starts.

The three-time major champion was once heralded as the next Tiger Woods, but has only two victories since 2017, and none since the ‘22 RBC Heritage.

Player, meanwhile, still believes Spieth, 32, is one of the game’s best talents, but can pinpoint where things are going wrong.

“Jordan Spieth, I think, is the best golfer in the world, but in my opinion, he was taught the wrong thing. He was taught the wrong thing. And he just went downhill,” Player said in a video The Golf Supply YouTube channel posted this week. “If you had a man like Ben Hogan teaching Jordan Spieth, he would be the best in the world. He’s such a competitor, such a wonderful man. A wonderful guy for golf, the best short game, oh man, best course management, but, man, he just can’t hit the ball, ya know?

“That is a tragedy.”

And the South African attributes Spieth’s subpar performances to American coaching.

“You know, there’s a tremendous lack of knowledge with golf,” Player said. “I would say in America today, the golf pros that are teaching know less about golf. They’re way less—and they got all the equipment, the technology.

“But I see them teaching golfers—they’re teaching golfers to do this [bowed wrist] at the top.”

Spieth wasn’t the only one subject to Player’s criticism, though.

“When’s the last you heard of Dustin Johnson?” he asked.

But despite a lackluster few years, Speith, ranked 51st in the world, feels his game is trending upward.

“Next year’s going to be a really good year for me, I can feel it,” Spieth two weeks ago at the Wyndham Championship. “It’s all coming along. I’ll be healthy, and just structurally putting, the mechanics are all getting really, really close. One good offseason should get me nailed down to where I could be as good as I’ve been. That’s my goal.”