Gary Player
| Gary Player DMS OIG | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Player in 2008 | |||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Full name | Gary James Player | ||||||||||
| Nickname | The Black Knight, Mr Fitness | ||||||||||
| Born | 1 November 1935 | ||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | ||||||||||
| Weight | 150 lb (68 kg; 11 st) | ||||||||||
| Sporting nationality |  South Africa | ||||||||||
| Residence | Jupiter Island, Florida, U.S. Plettenberg Bay, South Africa | ||||||||||
| Spouse |
Vivienne Verwey
(m. 1957; died 2021) | ||||||||||
| Children | 6 | ||||||||||
| Career | |||||||||||
| Turned professional | 1953 | ||||||||||
| Former tours | PGA Tour Southern Africa Tour Champions Tour | ||||||||||
| Professional wins | 159 | ||||||||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||||||||
| PGA Tour | 24 | ||||||||||
| European Tour | 4 | ||||||||||
| Sunshine Tour | 20 | ||||||||||
| PGA Tour of Australasia | 2 | ||||||||||
| PGA Tour Champions | 22 (Tied-7th all-time) | ||||||||||
| European Senior Tour | 3 | ||||||||||
| Other | 63 (regular) 6 (senior) | ||||||||||
| Best results in major championships (wins: 9) | |||||||||||
| Masters Tournament | Won: 1961, 1974, 1978 | ||||||||||
| PGA Championship | Won: 1962, 1972 | ||||||||||
| U.S. Open | Won: 1965 | ||||||||||
| The Open Championship | Won: 1959, 1968, 1974 | ||||||||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||||||||
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| (For a full list of awards, see here) | |||||||||||
| Signature | |||||||||||
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Gary James Player (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. Player won over 160 professional tournaments across six continents, including nine major championships.
Following victories at the 1959 Open Championship, 1961 Masters Tournament and 1962 PGA Championship, Player won the 1965 U.S. Open to become the first non-American to win the career grand slam. He was the third golfer to win the modern career grand slam, and only three more players have achieved the feat since. Player was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
Nicknamed "the Black Knight", "Mr Fitness", and "the International Ambassador of Golf", Player has been prolific as a golf course architect with more than 400 design projects throughout the world. He has also authored or co-written 36 books on golf instruction, design, philosophy, motivation and fitness. In 2021, Player was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by United States president Donald Trump.