If ever there was someone who physically embodied the label Global Golfer, it’s Gary Player, the small and charismatic South African.
This week he was named the 10th recipient of the PGA Tour Hall of Fame lifetime achievement award.
The praise and plaudits have been flowing this week and rightly so.
Mr. Player has travelled the fairways of the world, spent more time on aeroplanes than most of us have done in our homes and consistently won the biggest titles in the game.
There are so many stories about Mr. Player that any golf fan growing up will have heard or had passed down to them while wiling away summer hours in the pro-shop or on the putting green.
Player slept on a beach before The Open
“Did you hear the one about when Player slept on the beach the night before the Open Championship in St. Andrews, because he didn’t have the money for a bed and breakfast?”
Or, “you need to be fitter and stronger son,” “Gary Player could hold the grip of this driver between his two forefingers and keep it parallel to the ground without dropping it.”
Then, there were those famous trousers.
One leg black and one leg white.
And, his “black knight” persona, dressed head to toe in slim taut black clothing.
It was as if he were a medieval knight, riding into battle emblazoned by heraldry, and consumed by a blood lust that would always mean he was the last man standing in the golf tournament.
Biggest heart
In a recent discussion among the pundits on Sky Sports Golf TV about how you would design the greatest golfer of all time, using pieces from all the world’s best players, the pundits were unanimous in saying Gary Player had the greatest heart of any of them.
Never rested on his laurels
He must have done to keep playing all over the world, never resting on his laurels or opting for the bigger purses of the U.S PGA Tour, but always staying true to his roots as a truly global player.
He undoubtedly influenced a new generation of South African golfers to follow in his footsteps. Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Louis Oosthuizen all play the game internationally, in Asia, Africa, Europe and the U.S.A.
Let’s take a look at Mr. Player’s record:
- Nine major championships
- The modern Grand Slam
- 165 tournament titles globally, 24 on the PGA Tour & 19 on the Champions Tour
- As an international ambassador of the game, Player spent more than three years of his life in airplanes and traveled more than 15 million miles
- 13 South African Open Wins
- 5 World Matchplay titles
- Raised $50million through the Gary Player Foundation for good causes
- Designed more than 300 golf courses worldwide
‘A great honour’
“This is a great honour,” said Player. “Golf has allowed me to live a truly blessed life, and I have tried my best to give something back to the sport.
“Being recognised with true gentlemen of the sport like Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson and Jack Nicklaus is humbling, and I will continue to help promote and support this wonderful game until the day I die.
‘Most deserving’
PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem commented: “As one of the most accomplished – not to mention most-traveled – players in all of sports, Gary Player’s love of golf and his desire to use his talents to help everyone he comes in contact with make him most deserving of the PGA Tour’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
“You would be hard pressed to find an aspect of the game or corner of the world that hasn’t been influenced by Garyand his positive attitude over the past 50-plus years. He epitomizes the phrase ‘lifetime achievement’, and it will be an honor to recognize him for all of his accomplishments at The Players in May.”
All Hail the Black Knight……