| The young Gary Player spent most of his teenage years on the golf course
and that single-minded determination was to pay huge dividends as he
went onto establish himself as one of the true legends of the game. The
general consensus in his early years was that Player's swing was simply
not good enough and he was even advised to give up the game by respected
professionals - how wrong they proved to be! His first tournament
victory came courtesy of the Egyptian Matchplay in 1955 and thereafter
he became a prolific winner of tournaments world-wide. In the 1956
Open,aged just 20,he finished in a highly creditable fourth place in a
tournament won by Australian Peter Thomson and that same year he won the
South African Open and the Dunlop Masters. Player went close to landing
his first major championship when finishing second behind Tommy Bolt in
the 1958 US Open but he would not have to wait long for his moment of
glory. That came in the 1959 Open at Muirfield where his fine closing
effort of 68 was sufficient to give him victory after he had gone into
the final day's 36 holes eight strokes behind the leader. Player had
truly arrived as a world force and two years later he became the first
non-American to win the Masters in a tense finish with Arnold Palmer.
Going up the last in the final round Player did superbly to get up and
down from a greenside bunker whilst his American rival remarkably took
four to hole out from the same bunker shortly after,giving the South
African a one stroke triumph. Palmer gained revenge for that defeat in
the next years Masters with a play-off triumph over the man from Jo'burg
but Player made up for that disappointment by lifting the PGA
Championship by one stroke from Bob Goalby later that year. (David Scranage) |
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1964 -1967. US Open victory in 1965.
| There was a fifth place finish at the Masters and an eighth place at the
Open in 1964 but Player never seriously challenged in events won by
Arnold Palmer and Tony Lema respectively. The following year saw the
South African join a select band of Gene Sarazen,Ben Hogan and Jack
Nicklaus as the only players to win all four majors with his victory in
the US Open at Bellerive CC,St Louis,Missouri. His rounds of 70-70-71-71
left him level with Kel Nagle after four rounds and in the play-off the
following day Player got the better of the Australian by three strokes
with his round of 71. In taking the title Player became the first
overseas winner since England's Ted Ray in 1920,his Grand Slam had come
in just six years and that is a record bettered only by the great Jack
Nicklaus who achieved the feat in just four years. Player was now up
there alongside Nicklaus and Palmer but it was to be three years until
he would lift another major with his victory in the Open at Carnoustie.
In between times he continued to win tournaments all over the world and
there was also some handy performances at various majors. There was a
fourth place finish at the 1966 Open,four strokes behind champion
Nicklaus,and a third place at the PGA Championship the following month
in a tournament won by Al Geiberger. In the 1967 Open,played at
Hoylake,Player had to settle for third after his disappointing final
round 74 left him six strokes back on the winner Roberto de Vicenzo who
closed the event with a 70. (David Scranage) |
Gary Player pictured at the 1974 British Open. Photo George Herringshaw. ©
1968 - 1974 Masters. Majors five, six and seven.
| Gary Player enjoyed a quite wonderful year in 1968,winning on no less
than seven occasions,with his crowning glory coming in the 1968 Open at
Carnoustie. In a stirring final round the South African held off the
challenge of Jack Nicklaus and Australia's Bob Charles by two strokes to
claim his second claret jug. In testing conditions Player shot rounds
of 74,71,71 & 73 to head a field that included six major winners
amongst it's top ten. After that splendid victory at Carnoustie the
South African endured something of a barren spell in terms of major
championships and it was to be four years before he would land another.
There were near misses at the 1969 PGA Championship and the 1970 Masters
with Player finishing just one stroke behind the winner each time,who
were Ray Floyd and Billy Casper respectively. The feeling was that the
man from Johannesburg was in decline but he proved the doubters wrong by
bouncing back to win the 1972 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills
CC,Birmingham,Michigan and in doing so lifted his sixth major
championship. His rounds of 71,71,67 & 72 gave him a total of one
over par which was sufficient to give him a two shot victory over Tommy
Aaron and Jim Jamieson. In 1974 Player enjoyed the finest year of his
career,winning two majors in the same year for the first time. The first
of those came with his win at the Masters where he finished two strokes
clear of Dave Stockton and Tom Weiskopf. Player's superb third round 66
was the springboard for his success and a closing effort of
70,culminating in a wonderful approach shot to within a foot at the
penultimate hole,gave him his second Green Jacket. (David Scranage) |
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This more recent picture of Gary was taken at the 1996 British Open by Nigel French. © G.H.
1974 Open onwards. Thrilling win at 1978 Masters.
| After his success at the Masters of 1974 it was then onto the Open
Championship at Royal Lytham and St. Annes where Player's rounds of
69,68,75 & 70 left him as the only man under par. The South African
made particularly good use of his one iron to master the windy
conditions in the North West of England. He finished the tournament at
two under par and four strokes clear of his nearest challenger Peter
Oosterhuis to cap a wonderful year. Four years later he turned
in,arguably,his finest perormance ever to claim his third Green Jacket
with victory in the Masters at Augusta. Player opened with rounds of
72,72,& 69 but went into the last day trailing the leader Hubert
Green by seven strokes. In a truly sensational finish Player reeled off
seven birdies in the final ten holes including holing a 15 footer at the
last to post a final round 64. When Green missed a short putt at the
18th Player had pulled off a remarkable comeback to secure his ninth and
final major in the most thrilling fashion. There was nearly one final
hurrah at the 1984 PGA Championship but Player was foiled by fellow
'golden-oldie' Lee Trevino. Player's 11 under par total included a
vintage second round 63 but in the end he had to settle for second place
four strokes behind the little American. When Player turned 50 the
following year he promptly won the first Seniors event that he entered
and he is still competing on both the US and European Senior Tours. That
Player was still playing some fine golf well into his 60's is testimony
to the levels of fitness that he has maintained thoughout his career.
With nine major championships to his name there is no doubt that Gary
Player will go down as one of the all time greats. (David Scranage) |