GRETA THUNBERG was compared to Adolf Hitler by a top golfer who bragged about taking 50 flights this year.
European Tour winner Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano also likened Time's Person of the Year to Joseph Stalin after he posted a photo showing he churned out 23 tonnes of CO2 in 2019.
Spaniard Fernandez-Castano - known as Gonzo - posted a photo of all his flights this year, which totalled 118,802 miles.
Alongside the photo, he wrote: "Another year in the books! Enjoy @GretaThunberg."
But a vicious Twitter war soon erupted, with one user labelling Gonzo a "right-winger p****" for mocking the environmental activist.
Another wrote in reply to the 39-year-old's tweet: "What a great ambassador for your brands. Bragging about his carbon footprint to the 16-year-old @TIME person of the year."
To which the golfer hit back: "So what? Adolf Hitler was @TIME Person of the Year in 1938. So was Stalin, not once but twice."
Gonzo was blasted by others.
One said: "Abusing a 16-year-old girl online who wants us all not to die and stuff! You must feel very big and very clever, well done!"
Another posted: "Imagine sitting on your phone and thinking, ‘you know what I’m going to call out a teenage girl completely unprovoked’. Evaluate yourself good sir."
A fellow user said: "I'm starting to wonder who is really 39 and who is 16. Grow up!"
Fernandez-Castano, who has won seven times on the Euro Tour and counts hunting as one of his interests, said in a later tweet: "To the easily offended snowflakes on Twitter: either man up or get a sense of humour!"
And some seemed to like his joke, with one user writing: "Love it! Players with character and a sense of humour. You're my new favourite."
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Thunberg has campaigned for greater action on climate change.
In August she sailed the 3,000 miles from Plymouth to New York rather than fly in order to reduce her carbon footprint.
But she recently faced criticism for posting a photo of herself sitting on the floor of an "overcrowded" train despite apparently having a ticket in first class.