A former Rangers chairman was spotted on caddie duties at Augusta National on the opening day of the Masters. The first major of the year got underway on Thursday with Scottie Scheffler looking to defend his title. Rory McIlroy will also be hoping to give a good account of himself as he bids to win his first major since 2014.
The iconic opening ceremony took place before the first round with Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson serving as honorary starters. They each fired tee shots down the opening hole and it was Watson who managed to hit his ball the furthest. Player hit the second-furthest drive ahead of Nicklaus in third.
He was flanked by Dave King, the ex-Rangers chairman who remains a shareholder in the Ibrox club. He was seen wearing the iconic white boiler suit donned by caddies at the Masters before heading back into the clubhouse with Player.
It was not the first time King had been recruited to accompany Player for the opening ceremony at Augusta. They are long-time friends and have walked the fairways together on several occasions.
The pair joined forces when Player was still active, linking up for his final 10 appearances at the Masters. King also caddied for Player at St Andrews three years ago, when he got a few practice rounds under his belt on the famous Old Course.
King previously revealed that he ended up investing in Rangers after a round of golf with Arnold Palmer. He travelled to a pro-am event in Hawaii back in 2000 and got chatting with Alistair Johnston, who would later assume the role of chairman at Ibrox.
“He was a big Rangers man like myself and was telling me how the club needed cash and so on,” King told the Daily Mail. “He was trying to sell it to me, asking what it might take.
“So I said to him: ‘You know what would be really nice? I’ve played with Gary on Tuesday, I’ve played with Jack on Wednesday. Could you fix it for me to play with Arnold Palmer tomorrow in the pro-am?’. Alistair could do that. He arranged the pro-am.
“So I played golf with Gary Player on the Tuesday, Jack Nicklaus on the Wednesday and Arnold Palmer on the Thursday. I might be the only amateur golfer in the world who has ever done that.
“But golfing with the big three was a costly business. It ended up costing me a £20million investment in Rangers.”
