Gary Player pursues legal action after $481,000 Open Championship trophy sold without his consent

Gary Player, regarded as one of golf's greatest players, still regularly plays the sport at 88 years old. The PGA Tour legend has helped grow the game in his native country of South Africa and also founded The Gary and Vivienne Player Foundation, a charity committed to serving the vulnerable and underprivileged.

The nine-time Major championship winner has lifted the prestigious Claret Jug trophy three times in his illustrious career - in 1959, 1968, and 1974. Rumors of the sale of his 1974 Open Championship trophy and 1974 Augusta Masters trophy have been circulating on social media over the past few weeks.

According to Golden Age Bid, the 1974 Claret Jug was reportedly auctioned off to an unknown bidder for a whopping $481,068. Gary Player spoke about the reported sale on X (formerly Twitter).

The three-time Green Jacket winner claimed he is pursuing legal action against the "unlawful situation". Player went on to state that the sale was not authorized by him or his companies and that the replica trophies are priceless and hold a part of golf's history and sentiment in them. He wrote:

"The person entrusted with ensuring the safekeeping of these items on my behalf and who was tasked with using them to enshrine my golfing achievements has done the opposite by offering them for sale without my consent and against my wishes. My legal team is taking appropriate steps to resolve this unlawful situation."

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Gary Player at the Major Championships

Gary Player made a whopping 150 appearances in Major tournaments during his illustrious career. Having made the cut in 102 events, he recorded nine victories and six runner-ups. After a win at the 1965 US Open, the South African player became the first player of non-American descent to win all four Major championships and achieve a career Grand Slam.

Here's a look into Player's Major victories. His total score for all four days of tournament play is mentioned in the parenthesis.

• 1959 Open Championship (4 under par) [75, 71, 70, 68]
• 1961 Masters (8 under par) [69, 68, 69, 74]
• 1962 PGA Championship (2 under par) [72, 67, 69, 70]
• 1965 US Open (2 over par) [70, 70, 71, 71]
• 1968 Open Championship (1 over par) [74, 71, 71, 73]
• 1972 PGA Championship (1 over par) [71, 71, 67, 72]
• 1974 Masters (10 under par) [71, 71, 66, 70]
• 1974 Open Championship ( 2 under par) [69, 68, 75, 70]
• 1978 Masters (11 under par) [72, 72, 69, 64]