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Two-time major champion Tony Jacklin is a golfing traditionalist in every sense.
Jacklin, who won the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 US Open, is one of the most successful English golfers of all time.
He racked up 29 professional wins in total, including his two major championships and four PGA Tour titles.
However, the game that Tony Jacklin once excelled at is completely unrecognisable compared to what it once was.
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Tony Jacklin angry with what the USGA and The R&A have allowed to happen
The Englishman is not happy at all about the way in which the game has evolved from when he was competing at the highest level.
While speaking to Golf Monthly, Jacklin was asked to give his view on the current state of the professional game.
“Do not even get me started on what the USGA and The R&A have allowed to happen with equipment and the ball,“ said Jacklin.
“The game now has little to do with the one I started playing in 1953.
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
“It is time for me to step back and observe from afar. I will watch and hope everybody is happy doing what they are doing.”
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Jacklin clearly no longer relates to the game that he once loved so much, which is a real shame.
However, the golf ball rollback which will come into play in 2030 may well address that specific issue.
Tony Jacklin delivers his verdict on LIV Golf
Being a golfing purist, Jacklin has absolutely no time for LIV Golf.
“It was backed by enormous wealth and supported by figures such as Phil Mickelson and Greg Norman, but I always thought it was a non-starter,“ Jacklin exclaimed.
“They thought they could manufacture or buy history, and you cannot do that.
“I do not understand who wants music playing on the tees, shotgun starts and uncertainty over where the eventual winner will finish.
“The whole thing feels contrived.“
Tony Jacklin certainly has a very good point there. LIV Golf definitely changed the face of the professional game with the extortionate amounts of money that they pumped into the league.
However, that has already proven to be unsustainable with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund having recently announced that they will be withdrawing their financial support from the league at the end of the 2026 season.
So, who knows? Perhaps the finances in the game will be reined in moving forward and some kind of normality will return to the professional game.
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