Gary Player
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Gary Player on the cover of a 1999 golf instruction video. |
Gary Player (born
November 1,
1935) is a
South African professional
golfer generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the game's history. He was born in
Johannesburg,
South Africa.
Player is one of the most successful golfers in the history of the sport, ranking first in total professional wins, with at least a hundred and sixty-six, and tied fourth in
major championship victories with
nine. Along with
Arnold Palmer and
Jack Nicklaus he is sometimes referred to as one of the "Big Three" golfers of his era; the era in question being one when golf boomed in the United States and around the world, much encouraged by
television coverage. He is one of only five players to win golf's "
career Grand Slam" alongside
Gene Sarazen,
Ben Hogan,
Jack Nicklaus and
Tiger Woods, which he completed in 1965 at the age of twenty-nine. He was the second multi-time
major winner from South Africa, following on from
Bobby Locke, and succeeded by
Ernie Els and
Retief Goosen.
Player played regularly on the U.S. based
PGA Tour from the late 1950s. He won the money list in 1961, and went on to accumulate twenty four career titles. He also played an exceptionally busy schedule all over the world, and he has been called the world's most travelled athlete, clocking up more than 14 million miles. He has more victories than anyone else in the
South African Open (thirteen) and the
Australian Open (seven). He held the record for most victories in the
World Match Play Championship, with five wins, from 1973 until 1991 when this feat was equalled by
Seve Ballesteros, finally losing his share of the record in 2004, when Ernie Els won the event for a sixth time.
He was the only player in the 20th century to win the British Open in three different decades. Last won Masters in 1978, when he started seven strokes behind the leaders entering the final round and won by one shot with birdies at seven of the last 10 holes for a back nine 30 and a final round 64. One week later, Player came from seven strokes back in the final round to win the Tournament of Champions. In gusty winds at the 1998 Masters, he became the oldest golfer ever to make to the cut, breaking the 25-year-old record set by
Sam Snead.
Being South African, Player never played in the
Ryder Cup in which American and European golfers compete against each other, and he was no longer an eligible player when the
Presidents Cup was established to give international players the opportunity to compete in a similar event. However, he was non-playing captain of the International Team for the
Presidents Cup in 2003, which was held on a course he designed, The Links at Fancourt in George, South Africa. After 2003 ended in a tie, he was reappointed as captain for the 2005 Presidents Cup, and his team lost to the Americans 15.5 to 18.5.
In 1966, Gary Player was voted the
Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the
United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He was inducted into the
World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974 and "Gary Player - A Global Journey" exhibition launched by the Hall of Fame as of March, 2006.
Player has won over 160 professional events worldwide, including:
PGA Tour wins
24 wins:
*1958 (1) Kentucky Derby Open
*1959 (1)
The Open Championship*1961 (3) Lucky International, Sunshine Open,
The Masters*1962 (1)
PGA Championship *1963 (1)
San Diego Open Invitational *1964 (2) "500" Festival, Pensacola Open
*1965 (1)
U.S. Open *1968 (1)
The Open Championship*1969 (1)
Tournament of Champions *1970 (1)
Greater Greensboro Open*1971 (2) Greater Jacksonville Open, National Airlines Open
*1972 (2)
Greater New Orleans Open,
PGA Championship *1973 (1) Southern Open
*1974 (3)
The Masters,
Danny Thomas Memphis Classic,
The Open Championship*1978 (3)
The Masters,
MONY Tournament of Champions,
Houston OpenMajor championships are shown in
bold.
Other regular wins
In addition to his wins on the PGA Tour, Player won more than 100 other tournaments in "regular", that is non-senior golf.
South Africa Tour (now the
Sunshine Tour)
73 wins between 1955 and 1981 including:
*
South African Open: 13 times between 1956 and 1983
*South African Masters: 10 times between 1959 and 1976
*South African PGA: 5 times between 1959 and 1976
PGA Tour of Australasia18 wins between 1956 and 1981 including:
*
Australian Open: 7 times between 1958 and 1974
OtherAt least 20 other wins between 1955 and 1984, including:
*
World Cup: individual title in 1965 and 1977
*
World Match Play Championship: 5 times between 1965 and 1974 (played in England, but not an official European Tour event at that time)
*
World Series of Golf:1965, 1968 and 1972 (U.S. - not a PGA Tour event at that time)
*
Lancome Trophy: 1975
Player also collected wins in North and West Africa, Canada, Japan and Latin America.
Champions Tour wins
*1985 Quadel Seniors Classic
*1986
Senior PGA Championship, United Hospital Classic, Denver Post Champions
*1987
Mazda Senior Tournament Players Championship,
U.S. Senior Open, PaineWebber World Seniors Invitational
*1988
Senior PGA Championship,
Aetna Challenge, Southwestern Bell Classic,
U.S. Senior Open, GTE North Classic
*1989 GTE North Classic, RJR Championship
*1990
Senior PGA Championship *1991 Royal Caribbean Classic
*1993 Bank One Senior Classic
*1995 Bank One Senior Classic
*1998 Northville Long Island Classic.
Senior majors are shown in
bold. See "Other senior wins" below for Player's wins in the Senior British Open.
Other senior wins
*1986 Senior Skins Game (South Africa)
*1987 Northville Invitational (United States), German PGA Team Championship
*1988
Senior British Open (
European Seniors Tour), Nissan Senior Skins (South Africa)
*1990
Senior British Open (European Seniors Tour)
*1991 Nissan Senior Skins (South Africa)
*1993 Irish Senior Masters (European Seniors Tour)
*1997 Dai-ichi Seimei Cup (Japan),
Senior British Open (
European Seniors Tour),
Shell Wentworth Senior Masters (European Seniors Tour),
*2000 Senior Skins Game (U.S. - unofficial event)
The Senior British Open is shown in bold as it is generally recognised as a major and it is now an official Champions Tour event and major. However it was not an official Champions Tour event when Player achieved his wins, and in contrast to early wins in regular British Opens by PGA Tour members, which are now included in their official PGA Tour win tallies, wins in early Senior British Opens by Champions Tour members have not been restrospectively designated as Champions Tour wins by the PGA Tour at this time.
