Gary Player | Golf Monthly

I’ve been watching and listening to Gary Player for a long time since he first appeared on the black and white telly in the 1960s as one of the Big Three. He was always the extrovert of the three and loved playing to the crowd which he has continued to do if you look at his lessons and demos on youtube. His three Masters victories, three Open victories and five World Matchplay victories make him the opposite of a fraud on the first tee at Augusta. He has been quite outspoken about his change in political and racial views from being a boy and a young man in South Africa to learning more about the outside world where his golf took him. His early views, he says, were a result of his upbringing and have changed a lot as he got older, wiser and learned more. Because of those early views, he is unlikely to ever be viewed as a perfect human being.
His last and 9th major win, the 1978 Masters at the age of 42, is for me, the best last day performance ever in my memory of the Masters. He was 7 shots behind the leader and had several of the world’s best ahead of him going into the final round. Last nine holes of 30 shots clinched victory by one shot. Highlights available to see on youtube - 1978 Augusta Masters.
That is what I remember about Gary Player the golfer. As for making a comment on Gary Player the man, I don’t feel qualified to do so – I will have leave that to Jack Nicklaus.