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Few sportsmen are still signing endorsement contracts at the age of 84. Yet such is the evergreen force of the Gary Player brand that after reaching this significant age milestone on Friday 1 November, the Black Knight can look forward to the upcoming Gary Player Invitational tournament which in its 20-year history has been backed by leading global brands such as The Coca-Cola Company, BMW, Rolex, UPS, SAP, Callaway, Canon, Heineken, Johnny Walker, Lexus, PwC and Sun International. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Gary Player Invitational in South Africa, which will be played at The Lost City Golf Course at Sun City from 23-24 November. It does so with a strong base of corporate support that has allowed the tournament to expand into a new 36-hole format with an increased field of 72 golfers including sports stars, celebrities, Sunshine Tour and Sunshine Ladies Tour professionals, and business leaders. […]

Gary Player travels the world as an ambassador for the sport, but for the Nedbank Golf Challenge he plays host in his native country. He did not win as many majors as Jack Nicklaus or win over the masses like Arnold Palmer, but he still has had a lasting impact on the game. Player, 84, of South Africa, won the first of his nine major titles, the 1959 British Open, at the age of 23, and the last, the 1978 Masters Tournament, at 42. He came back from seven shots down on the final day. He also won nine majors as a senior. He has been one of golf’s most revered ambassadors, circling the globe for decades. For the Nedbank Golf Challenge, he gets to play host in his home country at the Gary Player Country Club. He reflected recently on his remarkable career. The following conversation has been edited and condensed. How many miles are you up to now? It’s got to […]

This week, the golf world’s focus turns to Sun City as Gary Player will again host the annual Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club in South Africa. The tournament has come a long way since Sun City was a mere volcanic crater prior to 1978. Sun International founder, Sol Kerzner, came to Gary Player with a vision to build South Africa’s premier resort. “The first helicopter flight with Sol Kerzner into the vast open bushveld was interesting,” said Gary Player. “I thought to myself, there is no way a golf course, let alone a world-class resort, could be built here. But Sol was a visionary who made things happen. “Our team had to move an unbelievable amount of dirt. The course was built on top of a dormant volcanic crater so the rock was extremely hard to break through. There was no water and we had to […]