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Gary Player  |
EXEMPT STATUS: Top 31 on All-Time Money List FULL NAME: Gary Player HEIGHT: 5-7 WEIGHT: 150 BIRTHDATE: November 1, 1935 BIRTHPLACE: Johannesburg, South Africa RESIDENCE: Johannesburg, South Africa, Palm Beach, FL FAMILY: Wife, Vivienne Verwey; Jennifer, Marc, Wayne, Michele, Theresa, Amanda; 12 grandchildren SPECIAL INTERESTS: Breeding thoroughbred race horses, education, golf course design, family, health and fitness TURNED PROFESSIONAL: 1953 JOINED TOUR: 1985 |
| PGA TOUR Victories |
| (24) 1958 Kentucky Derby Open. 1959 British Open Championship. 1961 Lucky International Open, Sunshine Open Invitational, Masters Tournament. 1962 PGA Championship. 1963 San Diego Open Invitational. 1964 Pensacola Open Invitational, 500 Festival Open Invitation. 1965 U.S. Open Championship. 1968 British Open Championship. 1969 Tournament of Champions. 1970 Greater Greensboro Open. 1971 Greater Jacksonville Open, National Airlines Open Invitational. 1972 Greater New Orleans Open, PGA Championship. 1973 Southern Open. 1974 Masters Tournament, Danny Thomas Memphis Classic, British Open Championship. 1978 Masters Tournament, MONY Tournament of Champions, Houston Open. |
| Champions Tour Victories |
| (19) 1985 Quadel Senior Classic. 1986 General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship, United Hospitals Senior Golf Championship, Denver Post Champions of Golf. 1987 Mazda SENIOR TOURNAMENT PLAYERS Championship, U.S. Senior Open, PaineWebber World Seniors Invitational. 1988 General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship, Aetna Challenge, Southwestern Bell Classic, U.S. Senior Open, GTE North Classic. 1989 GTE North Classic, The RJR Championship. 1990 PGA Seniors' Championship. 1991 Royal Caribbean Classic. 1993 Bank One Classic. 1995 Bank One Classic. 1998 Northville Long Island Classic. |
| International Victories |
| 1986 Nissan Senior Skins. 1987 Northville Invitational, Audi German PGA Team Championship (with son Wayne). 1988 Nissan Senior Skins, Senior British Open. 1990 Senior British Open. 1991 Nissan Senior Skins. 1993 Irish Senior Masters. 1997 Daiichi Seimei Cup, Shell Wentworth Senior Masters, Senior British Open. 2000 Senior Skins Game. |
| Other Victories |
| 1955 East Rand Amateur and Open Championship, Egyptian Match Play. 1956 South African Open, East Rand Amateur and Open Championship, Ampol Tournament, Dunlop Tournament. 1957 Western Province Open, Australian PGA Championship, Australian Open. 1958 Natal Open, Ampol Tournament, Coffs Harbour Tournament, Australian Open. 1959 Transvaal Open Championship, South African PGA Championship, Natal Open, Western Province Open, South African Masters, Victorian Open. 1960 Sprite Tournament, South African Open, South African Masters, Natal Open, Western Province Open, Transvaal Open Championship, South African PGA Championship. 1961 Yomiuri Open, Ampol Tournament. 1962 Australian Open, Transvaal Open Championship, Natal Open. 1963 Sponsored 5000, Liquid Air Tournament, Richelieu Grand Prix (Cape Town), Richelieu Grand Prix (Johannesburg), South African Masters, Australian Open, Transvaal Open Championship. 1964 South African Masters. 1965 Australian Open, South African Open, Piccadilly World Match Play Championship, World Cup (indiv.), World Cup (with Harold Henning), NTL Challenge Cup, World Series of Golf. 1966 South African Open, Transvaal Open Championship, Natal Open, Piccadilly World Match Play Championship. 1967 South African Open, South African Masters. 1968 South African Open, Western Province Open, Natal Open, South African Masters, Australian Masters. Piccadilly World Match Play Championship, World Series of Golf. 1969 Australian Open, South African Open, South African PGA Championship, Australian Masters. 1970 Australian Open, Dunlop International. 1971 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship, South African Masters, General Motors Open, Western Province Open. 1972 Brazil Open, South African Open, South African Masters, Western Province Open, Japan Air Lines Open, World Series of Golf. 1973 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship, General Motors Open, South African Masters. 1974 South African Masters, Rand International Open, General Motors Classic, Australian Open, Brazil Open, Ibergolf Tournament, La Manga Tournament. 1975 Lancome Trophy, South African Open, General Motors Classic. 1976 South African Open, South African Masters, General Motors Open. 1977 South African Open, ICL International, World Cup (indiv.). 1979 South African Open, South African PGA Championship, Kronenbrau Championship, Sun City Classic. 1980 Chile Open, Trophee Felix Houphonet-Boigny. 1981 South African Open, Gold Coast Classic. 1982 South African PGA Championship. 1984 Johnnie Walker Trophy. 1994 Skills Challenge. |
| Current Year Champions Tour Money and Positions |
| $46,190 (72) |
| Current Year Best Champions Tour Finishes |
| T22--MasterCard Classic |
| Current Year PGA TOUR Best Round |
| 80 at Round 2, Masters Tournament |
| Current Year Champions Tour Best Round |
| 67 at Round 2, MasterCard Championship |
| Best PGA TOUR Finishes |
| 1--1958 Kentucky Derby Open. 1959 British Open Championship. 1961 Lucky International Open, Sunshine Open Invitational, Masters Tournament. 1962 PGA Championship. 1963 San Diego Open Invitational. 1964 Pensacola Open Invitational, 500 Festival Open Invitation. 1965 U.S. Open Championship. 1968 British Open Championship. 1969 Tournament of Champions. 1970 Greater Greensboro Open. 1971 Greater Jacksonville Open, National Airlines Open Invitational. 1972 Greater New Orleans Open, PGA Championship. 1973 Southern Open. 1974 Masters Tournament, Danny Thomas Memphis Classic, British Open Championship. 1978 Masters Tournament, MONY Tournament of Champions, Houston Open. |
| Best Champions Tour Finishes |
| 1--1985 Quadel Senior Classic. 1986 General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship, United Hospitals Senior Golf Championship, Denver Post Champions of Golf. 1987 Mazda SENIOR TOURNAMENT PLAYERS Championship, U.S. Senior Open, PaineWebber World Seniors Invitational. 1988 General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship, Aetna Challenge, Southwestern Bell Classic, U.S. Senior Open, GTE North Classic. 1989 GTE North Classic, The RJR Championship. 1990 PGA Seniors' Championship. 1991 Royal Caribbean Classic. 1993 Bank One Classic. 1995 Bank One Classic. 1998 Northville Long Island Classic. |
| Best 2002 Champions Tour Finishes |
| T9--Farmers Charity Classic |
| 2002 Season PGA TOUR |
| Tournaments Entered--1; in money--; Top 10 finishes--0 |
| 2002 Season Champions Tour |
| Tournaments Entered--18; in money--17; Top 10 finishes--1 |
| 2002 Season Highlights |
| Turned in strong performance at the Farmers Charity Classic in May. Was a one-stroke victor in the Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions competition and then finished T9 in the tournament, his best effort since a T8 at the 2001 Senior PGA Championship...Entered the open qualifier for the British Open, but was forced to withdraw due to a pulled rib muscle...Missed the cut at the Masters in his 45th appearance in the event. |
| Career Highlights |
| 2001: Appeared in his 46th consecutive and final British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, site of his 1974 victory...Named as the World Golf Hall of Fame's Global Ambassador late in the year. 2000: Opened with an 8-under 64 at the BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland, at the time, the youngest ever to shoot his age on the Champions Tour. 36-hole total of 11-under-par 133 was good enough to win the Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions title in Nashville...Had a dramatic victory at the Senior Skins competition in January. Birdied the first extra hole to claim four skins and $220,000, good enough to defeat Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer at Mauna Lani. 1999: Claimed the Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions title at the Pacific Bell Senior Classic, defeating Al Geiberger by four strokes...In July, received a third doctorate from the University of Dundee, Scotland. 1998: Just two months shy of his 63rd birthday, became the second oldest winner in the history of the Champions Tour with his one-stroke victory over J.C. Snead and Walter Hall at the Northville Long Island Classic...Captured his fourth consecutive MasterCard Champions title the day before and thus became the fourth player (fifth time) to "double dip," claiming both events in the same week. 1997: Received an honorary Doctor of Science award from the University of Ulster in Ireland...Inducted into the Captains Club at the 1997 Memorial Tournament. 1996: Won three MasterCard Champions titles in his first year in the over-60 competition...Fell to Walter Morgan on the first hole of a playoff at the FHP Health Care Classic at Ojai, CA. 1995: Captured his second Bank One Classic in three years when he returned to Lexington and shot a final-round 64. Came from four strokes back on Sunday, thanks to eight birdies...Received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from St. Andrews University in Scotland and was the recipient of the Hilton Hotel Lifetime Achievement Award. 1994: Named an Honorary Member of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. 1993: Celebrated his 40th year as a professional with his 38th TOUR victory, a three-stroke win over Dale Douglass at the Bank One Classic in Lexington, KY. 1991: Started the year off with a victory at the Royal Caribbean Classic, his seventh straight season capturing at least one Champions Tour title. 1990: Outdueled Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino for his third PGA Seniors' Championship, the last of his six senior majors...Received the South African Sportsman of the Century Award. 1989: Had his biggest earnings year in golf, thanks to a $202,500 paycheck for winning the Vantage Championship, the largest first prize of his illustrious career...Also successfully defended his crown at the rain-shortened GTE North Classic in Indianapolis, beating Al Geiberger, Joe Jimenez and Billy Casper by a stroke. 1988: Won a career-high five times in 20 starts, including his second PGA Seniors' Championship and second U.S. Senior Open...Was three strokes better than Chi Chi Rodriguez at PGA National and defeated good friend Bob Charles in an 18-hole playoff at Medinah for the U.S. Senior Open crown. 1987: Sank an eight-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole for the Mazda SENIOR TOURNAMENT PLAYERS Championship at Ponte Vedra Beach, FL...Cruised to a six-shot victory at the U.S. Senior Open at Brooklawn CC in Fairfield, CT and became the third man to hold both the U.S. Open and U.S. Senior Open titles. 1986: Defeated Lee Elder by two strokes for his first Champions Tour major, the General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship, and went on to claim two other events in consecutive weeks -- the United Hospitals Seniors and the Denver Post Champions. 1985: Fifth of 10 men to win his first Champions Tour start when he claimed the Quadel Seniors Classic at Boca Grove Plantation by three strokes over Ken Still and Jim Ferree. |
| Personal |
| Dubbed the Black Knight, Mr. Fitness and the International Ambassador of Golf...A renowned golf course architect with over 200 design projects located throughout the world. Designer of the course at the Tournament Players Club at Jasna Polana near Princeton, NJ, and The Links at Fancourt in South Africa, the site of the 2003 Presidents Cup...Operates Gary Player International which includes Gary Player Golf Equipment, Gary Player Golf Academy and Gary Player Enterprises, aspects of which include licensing, publishing, videos, apparel and memorabilia...Gary Player Stud Farm has received worldwide acclaim for breeding top horses...Operates The Player Foundation with its primary objective to promote education. The Foundation built the Blair Atholl Schools in Johannesburg, South Africa, which has educational facilities for more than 500 students from kindergarten through the seventh grade and is currently working on additional educational projects...Says his biggest thrill in golf is being the third player in history after Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan to win all four Grand Slam events...Has traveled more miles than any athlete in history, more than 12 million and counting...At one point in his career, traveled with his six children and more than 30 pieces of luggage that sometimes took as many as three taxis to transport...Among his heroes are Winston Churchill, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi...Among his favorite golf courses are The Links at Fancourt in his native South Africa, Cypress Point, Carnoustie and the TPC at Jasna Polana...One of his superstitions or lucky charms is wearing black...Favorite athletes are Michael Jordan and Pele...Web site is GaryPlayer.com. |
| PGA TOUR Playoff Record |
| 3-10 |
| Champions Tour Playoff Record |
| 4-2 |