Player’s far from subtle show of support for the Kingdom will not have been welcomed in the clubhouse. Neither will his comments on Mickelson. The 51-year-old called the Saudis “scary motherf—— to deal with” in an interview published in February and admitted using the SGL as leverage in a row with the PGA Tour over players’ commercial rights.

In the outcry that saw the majority of Mickelson’s sponsors walking away, the reigning US PGA champion announced that he was taking an indefinite leave from the game. Player expressed sympathy for the left-hander.

“I think it’s pitiful,” Player said about the treatment meted out to Mickelson “It’s amazing. From the epitome of perfection, he’s down there being crucified. It’s not right.

“The greatest PR man on the golf Tour in the last five or X amount of years has been Phil Mickelson. He has been the ideal man for a sponsor, for professional golf, for the public, the way he’s handled the public, with dignity and with love. And he said he’s sorry. I’ve told him, ‘Hold your head up high. You’ve made a mistake. Everybody makes a mistake. He should go on with his life.”

It is fair to say the Player family have history when it comes to creating a stir at the ceremonial start. At the 85th Masters, Wayne Player, who was caddying for his father, was slammed for displaying a box of OnCore balls in the background of the shot as TV cameras focused on Lee Elder. Player has been an OnCore ambassador since 2019. Elder, 86, was the first black golfer to play in The Masters in 1975 and had been invited to join Player and Nicklaus. He died later last year.

Player also raised eyebrows with remarks about Indian women. “I was really charmed,” he said of a recent trip to the country. “I love India, the intelligence, the technology, the manners, so humble. The women dress so nicely. I’m so used to seeing women with damn dresses up their bum, and you don’t see anything like that in India.”