Gary Player - The Legend

Player in the Carolinas to Raise Money for BI-LO Charities

And he had a thing or two to say on some other matters…

A VIP foursome, who made generous donations to BI-LO Charities for the opportunity to play a round with Gary Player, got more than just a few golf tips from the man in black.  Player spoke passionately about the epidemic of childhood obesity, rampant drugs in sport and his passion for the environment before teeing it up with four donors at Bright’s Creek Country Club for the 25th annual BI-LO Charity Classic.

The weekend’s festivities included a visit to Verdae Greens Golf Club where Player surprised about 100 First Tee golfers with a short clinic; the President’s Party on Saturday evening for major sponsors of the event, and of course the main event – golf!

Nearly 1,400 golfers participated in the BI-LO Charity Classic, which is played over 14 prestigious golf courses in North and South Carolina.  The goal for this year’s event was to exceed the $5 million mark, which was successfully achieved when a record $5,659,000 was raised. This brings BI-LO’s charitable contribution to children-related causes to nearly $50 million over the past 25 years.

The media caught up with the Black Knight at Bright’s Creek Country Club on Sunday to discuss an array of topics including charity, his involvement with The Cliffs and a topic that has caused much media controversy, drugs in sport.

Player, who blames money for the tragedy behind athletes abusing steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, said “It will take monumental efforts to stop this [behavior] in sport, and I have my doubts whether we can do it.”

While golf was always seen as the “cleanest” of sports, Player is credited with bringing awareness of potential dangers and substance abuse among the game’s professionals, which ultimately lead to the PGA Tour instating a drug policy late last year.

The environmental concerns regarding The Cliffs at Mountain Park, a signature course designed by Gary Player Design, also surfaced during his visit to the Upstate.  As a farmer and conservationist himself, Player spoke with authority on the subject and maintained that Cliffs developer Jim Anthony has been treated unfairly.

Environmental groups have criticized Anthony for building a golf course along the North Saluda River, when in fact a plan has been put in place to clean up the river that has previously been spoiled by over 50 years of agricultural usage.

“I’ll tell you this,” said Player.  “The first day we looked at the site, I said to Jim, ‘Look at the poor shape of this river… Look what they’ve done to it,’ and we set out to clean it up.  I believe everything will get worked out, but I think the criticism has been unfair for all we’re trying to do out there,” he concluded.

While there may have been some sidetracking by the media, at the end of the day, charity was the name of the game.  In celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Player Foundation and the BI-LO Charity Classic, Gary Player committed to helping BI-LO break fundraising records by participating in this year’s event.

For 25 years The Player Foundation has worked to raise funds for impoverished children around the world – particularly in the area of education.  It was announced last weekend that the US leg of the Gary Player Invitational will be coming to The Cliffs this Fall.  This is one of four Gary Player Invitational charity events this year (Europe, China, USA and South Africa) and a first for The Cliffs.  The GPI, as it is informally known, will benefit The Player Foundation and Zest Quest, whose primary objective is to teach and encourage children to lead healthy lives.

Player says his goal is to influence five million children in his time by promoting the importance of diet, health and fitness.  As passionate as he is about rampant diabetes in Western society and the epidemic of childhood obesity, no doubt we’ll hear a lot more from “Mr Fitness” on this subject.

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