Tokyo: The wife and caddie of Olympic golf silver medallist Rory Sabbatini has issued an angry denial of claims the South African-born player has an Afrikaner white supremacist tattoo on his arm.
While playing and celebrating his 10-under-par 61 at the Kasumigaseki Country Club to storm into second place behind Xander Schauffele of the USA on Saturday, Sabbatini inadvertently revealed a tattoo that sparked questions on social media where the tattoo’s resemblance to the symbol of white supremacist Eugene Terre’Blanche’s Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging organisation was noted.
Rory Sabbatini of Slovakia, LLL tattoo visible, plays his shot from the ninth tee during the final round of the men’s individual play at Tokyo’s Kasumigaseki Country Club on Saturday.Credit:Getty Images
Sabbatini was on his way out of Tokyo when the controversy erupted, but his wife Martina Stofanikova said it was nonsense.
“Nonsense of an outrageous nature. The tattoo is dedicated to me and I have the same tattoo just not on hand. It means LLL – love, laughter, loyalty. You can guess what those words mean, but maybe I don’t have to translate them. Our relationship is based on these principles. Better to ask first than to spread nonsense. Really sad.”
Durban-born Sabbatini, 45, had represented South Africa until 2018, when he adopted his wife’s Slovakian nationality. A six-time winner on the PGA tour, he played for South Africa in the World Cup of golf six times and was runner-up in the 2007 Masters.
Sabbatini said he did not switch nationality to Slovakia in order to qualify for the Olympics, as he was never likely to rank in South Africa’s top two. He said his motivation was his wish to promote golf in the country of second wife. The head of Slovakia’s governing body for golf is a cousin of Stofanikova.
Unlike most athletes who could not have family members in Tokyo, Sabbatini was fortunate in that his wife caddied for him.
The golfer, whose highest lifetime ranking was 12, gained a reputation for some hotheaded actions in the 2000s, once insulting Tiger Woods and pulling out of the American superstar’s tournament, as well as clashing with other fellow professionals.
Coincidentally, without anticipating the blow-up over his arm tattoo, Sabbatini was asked, after winning his silver medal, if he was going to add to his tattoo collection to commemorate his medal.
“I think after this it might have to be [a tattoo],” he said. “We might have to do the whole Slovakia with the [Olympic] rings.”
The International Olympic Committee referred questions to golf’s governing body, World Golf, which passed on Maria Sabbatini’s response.
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