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Gary Player (born November 1, 1935) is a South
African professional golfer.  

He coined one of the most quoted aphorisms of
post-War sport: "The harder you practice the
luckier you get."

He currently plays on the Champions Tour,
displaying all his old desire, determination and
competitiveness.

==Regular tour career==
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 Golfers with most major title
wins|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 "Grand Slam of golf|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 majors|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 was
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 with 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 came from seven strokes back in the
final round to win the Tournament of Champions. In
gusty winds at the 1998 Masters, 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 eligable 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. He has been
reappointed as captain for the 2005 Presidents
Cup.

Player was inducted into the World Golf Hall of
Fame in 1974.

==Senior tour career==
Won his first Champions Tour event taking the 1985
Quadel Seniors Classic in his debut. Top 10 on the
Champions TOUR money list from 1986-1990.
Outdueled Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino for his
third Senior PGA Championship title in 1990.
Largest paycheck of his career came at a Champions
TOUR event winning $202,500 at the 1989 RJR
Championship. Five-time winner in 1988 including
the PGA Seniors and U.S. Senior Open. Won back two
back titles in 1997 at the Senior British Open and
the Shell Wentworth Masters...Became the second
oldest winner on the Champions Tour by shooting
three consecutive rounds of 68 to capture the 1998
Northville Long Island Classic.  
Captained the UBS Cup with Arnold Palmer in
November 2001 and 2002. 

==Other activities==
Gary Player Stud Farm has received worldwide
acclaim for breeding top thoroughbred race horses
including 1994 English Derby entry Broadway Flyer.
Operates The Player Foundation with its primary
objective to promote education around the
world.Has raised over $100 million since 1980. The
Foundation built the Blair Atholl Schools in
Johannesburg, South Africa, which has educational
facilities for over 500 students from kindergarten
through grade 8 and is currently working on
additional educational projects around the
world.Adopted Pleasant City Elementary School in
West Palm Beach in 2005. Renowned golf course
architect with over 200 design projects throughout
the world. Operates Black Knight International
which includes, Gary Player Design,Player
Equipment, Gary Player Academy and Gary Player
Enterprises, aspects of which include licensing,
publishing, videos, apparel, and memorabilia.

==Championships Won==
Player has won over 160 professional events
worldwide, including:

===PGA Tour wins===
24 wins: 
*1958 Kentucky Derby Open
*1959 The Open Championship
*1961 Lucky International, Sunshine Open, The
Masters Tournament|The Masters
*1962 PGA Championship  
*1963 Buick Invitational|San Diego Open  
*1964 “500” Festival, Pensacola Open
*1965 U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open 
*1968 The Open Championship
*1969 Mercedes Championships|Tournament of
Champions  
*1970 Greater Greensboro Open  
*1971 Greater Jacksonville Open, National Airlines
Open  
*1972 New Orleans Open, PGA Championship  
*1973 Southern Open  
*1974 The Masters Tournament|The Masters, FedEx
St. Jude Classic|Danny Thomas-Memphis Classic  
*1974 The Open Championship
*1978 The Masters Tournament|The Masters, Mercedes
Championships|Tournament of Champions, Houston
Open

Major 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 Australasia

18 wins between 1956 and 1981 including:
*Australian Open (golf)|Australian Open: 7 times
between 1958 and 1974 
 
Other

At least 20 other wins between 1955 and 1984,
including:
*WGC-World Cup|World Cup: individual title in 1965
and 1977
*HSBC World Match Play Championship|World Match
Play Championship: 5 times between 1965 and 1974
(played in England, but not an official European
Tour event at that time)
*WGC-NEC Invitational|World Series of Golf:1965,
1968 and 1972 (U.S. - not a PGA Tour event at that
time)
*Trophée Lancôme|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.

==Miscellanea==
*Dubbed the Black Knight, Mr. Fitness and the
International Ambassador of Golf
*Player bred the racehorse Broadway Flyer which
competed in the 1994 Epsom Derby.
*Named Honorary Member of the Royal and Ancient
Golf Club of St Andrews|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-NEC 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
*Received the 2003 Laureus Lifetime Achievement
Award at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Monte
Carlo.
*Awarded the Order of Ikhamanga (in gold) by Thabo
Mbeki|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 200 golf courses around the
world.

==See also==
*Golfers with most PGA Tour wins

*List of golfers with most major title wins
*Golfers with most Champions Tour major
championship wins

==External links==
*http://www.GaryPlayer.com Gary Player's official
site
*http://www.golfstarsonline.com/P/Gary_Player/
Golf Stars Online - links to features and profiles