Gary Player

Gary Player
Personnel
Nation:	South Africa
Nickname:	Black Knight
Career data
Professional since:	1953
Current tour:	Champions Tour
Tournament wins:	165
Major wins :	9
Awards:	Bob Jones Award (1966) ; South African Sportsman of the Century ; World Golf Hall of Fame (1974) ; PGA TOUR Lifetime Achievement Award (2012)

Gary Player (born November 1, 1935 in Johannesburg ) is a South African professional golf athlete and one of the best golfers. His most important nickname is "Black Knight", the black knight (because of his always black playing clothes).

Life

Player was born the third of three children. His father Harry worked as a captain in a gold mine. When Gary Player was eight years old, his mother Muriel died of cancer. It wasn't until the age of 14 that he began to play golf. In 1953, at the age of 17, he became a professional golfer . In January 1957 he married Vivienne, with whom he has six children.

successes

Player joined the North American PGA Tour in the late 1950s , won the money list in 1961 and collected a total of 24 wins there. But he also played very successfully around the world, traveled over 22 million kilometers and won over 160 tournaments, including nine majors and many prestigious trophies in (record) series.

Gary Player is the only 20th century golfer to have won the Open Championship in three different decades (1959, 1968 and 1974). In 1998 he broke Sam Snead's record when he made the cut at the Masters as the oldest player to date . From 1955 to 1982 Player achieved at least one international tournament victory every year; he won the World Match Play title five times, the Australian Open seven times, the South African Open thirteen times and the South African Masters twelve times. He is also the only golfer who has ever achieved a round under 60 - a 59 - in a professional National Open , as happened at the 1974 Brazilian Open .

As a South African player was not allowed to compete in the Ryder Cup . He was already too old as a player for the newly created Presidents Cup , but at least as captain he was there in 2003 and 2005.

Gary Player has been playing senior on the Champions Tour since 1985 , won his first tournament in the same year, was always in the top 10 of the money list until 1990 and won 6 senior majors . Together with the 3 Senior British Open titles that are part of the European Seniors Tour , Player has also made 9 majors in the senior category.

Other activities

Gary Player is a sought-after golf course designer with over 300 projects around the globe. He heads Black Knight International , which covers a wide spectrum of everything to do with golf. Apart from golf, Gary Player supports the education of children and young people and the building of schools worldwide with his foundation The Player Foundation .

Quote

The harder you practice, the luckier you get.

Most important awards and honors

1966: Bob Jones Award (highest award of the USGA "in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf")

1974: World Golf Hall of Fame (The Golf's Hall of Fame )

1994: Honorary Member of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews

1995: Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from St. Andrews

1997: Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Ulster , Northern Ireland

1999: Honorary Member of Carnoustie

1999: Honorary Doctorate in Law, University of Dundee

2003: Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Monte Carlo

2012: PGA TOUR Lifetime Achievement Award

South African Sportsman of the Century

Order of Ikhamanga in gold , presented by the South African President Thabo Mbeki for “excellence in golf and contribution to non-racial sport in South Africa”.

PGA Tour victories

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
1964 (2) “500” Festival, Pensacola Open
1965 (1) US 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) New Orleans Open, PGA Championship
1973 (1) (1) Southern Open
1974 (2) The Masters , Danny Thomas-Memphis Classic
1974 (1) The Open Championship
1978 (3) The Masters , Tournament of Champions , Houston Open

Major championships are in bold .

Other tournament victories (excerpt)

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
Australian Open : 7 wins between 1958 and 1974
World Cup : individual ranking 1965 and 1977
World Match Play Championship : 5 wins between 1965 and 1974.
World Series of Golf : 1965, 1968 and 1972
Lancome Trophy : 1975

Champions Tour victories

1985 Quadel Seniors Classic
1986 Senior PGA Championship , United Hospital Classic, Denver Post Champions
1987 Mazda Senior Tournament Players Championship , US Senior Open , PaineWebber World Seniors Invitational
1988 Senior PGA Championship , Aetna Challenge, Southwestern Bell Classic, US 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 in bold .

More senior tournament victories

1986 Senior Skins Game (South Africa)
1987 Northville Invitational (USA), 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 (USA)
2005 Nelson Mandela Invitational ( Sunshine Tour - unofficial event)