Gary Player believes Rory McIlroy can win the Open Championship this week, even though he has not won a Major Championship since 2014.
In an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with @LaureusSport, in which he relives winning the 1968 Open Championship at Carnoustie, exactly 50 years ago, Player said: ‘I do believe there’s still the best to come from Rory. This is nonsense about him never coming back to where he was.
‘If he putts well, I would favour him. He’s a young man. An unbelievable talent. Maybe [he has] even more talent than Tiger Woods had at the start of their careers. Will he do what Tiger Woods has done? I doubt that, but there is a lot to come in the future. I’m very confident of his game.’
In the interview, Player also talks emotionally ahead of Mandela Day (18 July) – the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, the first Patron of Laureus Sport for Good.
Player said: ‘I went to see the prison cell that he lived in for 20 years, 10 foot by five or six foot. And can you imagine, he comes out with no revenge or hatred, humble, full of love. That’s how you judge a leader.’
