Gary Player will once again participate in the ceremonial opening tee shot at the Masters tournament on Thursday, though he will do so without his son, Wayne. An episode at the 2021 competition resulted in his son being handed a lifetime ban from Augusta National.

Three-time Masters champion Player has secured nine major titles overall and became a mainstay of the honorary starters tradition in 2012. He has worked alongside legends such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson to officially begin the tournament. However, the 2021 ceremony plunged Player into controversy thanks to his son Wayne, who was acting as his caddie.

Augusta National was honouring Lee Elder that year, the pioneering African-American golfer who became the first of his race to compete in the Masters back in 1975. Yet the occasion was overshadowed as Elder stepped onto the tee box with Wayne.

It was at this point that the now-61-year-old executed a brazen marketing stunt. He positioned himself behind Elder, who tragically died later that year, during his introduction and openly brandished a box of OnCore golf balls - a brand that sponsored Player.

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Eagle-eyed spectators were swift to condemn Wayne's behaviour, and Augusta National wasted no time in responding. They revoked his tournament credentials and imposed a permanent ban from the course.

Augusta National declined to publicly comment on the incident or the subsequent action taken against Player's son. Wayne discussed the incident during a 2022 interview with Golf Digest as he said: "Well, they say there's no such thing as bad publicity.

"I found out that that's not quite true. I had probably 50 texts after that, 40 of them said I'm a marketing genius, 10 were like, 'What the hell were you thinking?' It wasn't premeditated, but it was a tacky thing.

"I don't mind letting people know. To be completely transparent, I think it is a cool story because, you know, the National never really came out formally and said, 'Oh, we're not allowing Wayne Player to come back to the Masters.'

"They never ever said that to the media. That's just the way they do it. They don't say much."

Despite writing an apology letter in the wake of the incident, Wayne was unable to have the ban overturned. "It said thanks but no thanks," Player added.

"It said, you know, we appreciate you reaching out and apologising, we accept your apology, but we are not changing our position, we are not going to allow you back. You ruined a special moment in the history of the game of golf."