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Happy Birthday Gary

Nov 1, 2011 | Filed Under: General News   Share

When Gary Player beat Australian Kel Nagle in a play-off to win the 1965 US Open and complete the coveted Grand Slam of Golf he made good on a promise that shocked and surprised the golfing fraternity.

Four years earlier, Player had promised United States Golf Association executive secretary Joe Dey that if he ever won in America again, he would return his prize money for charity.

True to his word, Player returned his first-place check and asked that it be shared between the Cancer Society and the USGA for the promotion of junior golf. The $1,000 playoff bonus, plus an equal amount out of his own pocket, went to Player’s caddie.

At the time the gesture went down as one of the greatest acts of generosity in sports history, but in a career spanning more than 50 years, Player has shown that his kindness and big-heartedness knows no boundaries.

Player won nine Majors, nine Senior Majors, 165 tournaments worldwide and achieved the career Grand Slam on the PGA Tour and on the Champions Tour with infectious enthusiasm and a zest for life and golf that never wavered. That determination to perform to the best of his abilities always made him a tough competitor, and in his twilight years he is using that same passion, grit and determination in his relentless pursuit to use golf for the greater good of mankind.

When the clock struck midnight to signal his 76th birthday on 1 November, Player was in Shanghai, China to host the fourth leg of the Gary Player Invitational series in partnership with Coca-Cola to raise money for the Yunnan AIDS Orphans whose lives have been hit hardest by HIV.

A milestone age for any person, golf’s International ambassador is still a shining example of how to treat age as simply a number.

At 76, he still packs more into a day than men half his age - and he loves every minute of it. Speaking from Shanghai, Player said: “I still have so much to do. My talent was a gift and golf has given me a fantastic career. Now it’s my responsibility to recognize what I received and pay it forward.”

Player said he was fortunate to overcome challenges in his life with his abilities and the good people who helped him along the way. “I wanted to find a way to help children to achieve their dreams despite the challenges they face,” he said.
In less than two weeks, Player will be hard at work again, hosting the 12th edition of the Gary Player Invitational presented by Coca-Cola in South Africa.

Happy birthday Gary.

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