Gary Player

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

ummary of major championship performances

*Starts – 158
*Wins – 9
*2nd place finishes – 6
*Top 3 finishes – 18
*Top 5 finishes – 23
*Top 10 finishes – 44
*Longest streak of top-10s in majors – 7

Player has won over 160 professional events worldwide, including:

PGA Tour wins (24)

*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 Open Invitation, 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 Invitational
*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 Open

Major championships are shown in bold.

Other 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 Championship: 5 times between 1959 and 1976

PGA Tour of Australasia
18 wins between 1956 and 1981 including:
*Australian Open: A record 7 times between 1958 and 1974

Other
At least 20 other wins between 1955 and 1984, including:
*World Cup: individual title in 1965 and 1977
*Piccadilly 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)
*Trophée Lancôme: 1975

Player also collected wins in North and West Africa, Canada, Japan and Latin America.

Champions Tour wins (19)

*1985 (1) Quadel Seniors Classic
*1986 (3) General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship, United Hospitals Senior Golf Championship, Denver Post Champions of Golf
*1987 (3) Mazda Senior Tournament Players Championship, U.S. Senior Open, PaineWebber World Seniors Invitational
*1988 (5) General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship, Aetna Challenge, Southwestern Bell Classic, U.S. Senior Open, GTE North Classic
*1989 (2) GTE North Classic, RJR Championship
*1990 (1) PGA Seniors' Championship
*1991 (1) Royal Caribbean Classic
*1993 (1) Bank One Senior Classic
*1995 (1) Bank One Classic
*1998 (1) 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 (13)

*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)
*2005 Nelson Mandela Invitational (Sunshine Tour - 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 as recognised by the US PGA Tour 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. The Senior British Open is however recognised as a major by all other international bodies, such as the European Tour. It is widely believed the Americans will eventually designate these as majors just as they have the regular tour's British Open

In the bag

Callaway is Gary Player's preference, and it is all that is in his bag.

* Driver: FT-5 Callaway
* Fairway Woods: Strong 4, 5 and 9 Callaway Steelhead Woods
* Hybrid: Callaway Heavenwood 4H
* Irons: 5-PW X-Tour Callaway
* Sand wedges: 56 Degree and 64 Degree X-Tour Callaway
* Putter: Odyssey Whitehot #1
* Ball: Callaway HX Tour
* Glove: Callaway
* Shoes: Gary Player Collection
* Putter Grip: Odyssey
* Apparel: Gary Player Collection

Controversy

In 1966, Gary Player was quoted in a book entitled "Grand Slam Golf" in which he wrote:

Player has apologised profusely about this statement, saying he was a young man who never proof read the book's manuscript prior to going to print and that the quote was never made by him but rather the writer of the book." [ [http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2007/10/16/playing-in-the-rough/ Playing in the Rough] Monbiot.com October 16, 2007. Retrieved 16/10/07] ] It is believed that Player's attitude towards the apartheid regime is very different today and has so far raised over 100 million dollars through his foundation to support under-privileged education in South Africa during apartheid. Fact|date=October 2007

In 2002, Gary Player designed a golf course in Burma, named by the developers, The Pride of Myanmar, currently frequented by tourists as well as generals of the army. There are unsubstantiated accusations that the land for the courses was seized from poor farmers without compensation. Regardless, as a designer Player had nothing to do with how the land was acquired. [ [http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2007/10/16/playing-in-the-rough/ Playing in the Rough] Monbiot.com October 16, 2007. Retrieved 16/10/07] ]

Player has hosted the Nelson Mandela Invitational Golf Tournament since 2000. As a result of the recent political uprisings in Burma, the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund has withdrawn from the fundraising golf tournament because of Player's unsubstantiated business links with the country. Both Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have however accepted Player's position and statements on Burma. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/10/nburma110.xml Burmese diplomat quits London Embassy] "Telegraph" October 10, 2007. Retrieved 10/10/07] ] Player refused to withdraw as he owns the event and issued a statement rebutting these claims via his website www.garyplayer.com.

The event is now annually staged as the Gary Player Invitational and is South Africa's largest and most successful charity event, having raised a record amount of money for various children's charities. [ [http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2007/10/16/playing-in-the-rough/ Playing in the Rough] Monbiot.com October 16, 2007. Retrieved 16/10/07] ]

Distinctions and honors

*Named Honorary Member of the R&A in 1994.
*Received Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from St. Andrews in 1995.
*Received Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland in 1997
*The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational trophy is named the Gary Player Cup.
*Named Honorary Member of Carnoustie in 1999
*Received Honorary Doctorate in Law, University of Dundee, Scotland in 1999
*South African Sportsman of the Century award in 2000
*Received the 2003 Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Monte Carlo.
*Awarded the Order of Ikhamanga (in gold) by President Mbeki of South Africa for excellence in golf and contribution to non-racial sport in South Africa.
*He was featured on a South African stamp.
*Has designed over 250 golf courses around the world.
*Coined one of the most quoted aphorisms of post-War sport: "The harder you practice, the luckier you get."
*He currently plays on the U.S. Champions Tour.
*In 2006 received the Payne Stewart Award.
*Played in his 51st Masters Tournament at Augusta National in April 2008, overtaking Arnold Palmer's record of 50 (which he equaled in 2007) for most Masters appearances
*Inducted into the African American Sports Hall of Fame in May 2007, with Lifetime Achievement Award
*Has played in a record 46 consecutive British Open Championships, winning 3 times over 3 decades.

Miscellaneous

*He made a cameo appearance in the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode, "The Smoking Jacket."
*Supports Scottish football team Rangers

ee also

*Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
*Golfers with most major championship wins
*Longest PGA Tour win streaks
*Golfers with most Champions Tour wins
*Golfers with most Champions Tour major championship wins

References

External links

* [http://www.GaryPlayer.com Gary Player's official site]
* [http://www.pgatour.com/players/00/19/55/ Profile on PGA Tour's official site]
* [http://www.golflegends.org/gary-player.php Gary Player] Profile at Golf Legends
* [http://www.garyplayerdesign.com Gary Player Golf Course Design]
* [http://www.theplayerfoundation.org Gary Player Foundation]