1962 PGA Championship

The 1962 PGA Championship was played at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Locked in another down to the wire finish, Gary Player won the first of his two PGA Championships by one stroke ahead of runner-up Bob Goalby for the third of his Major titles and the third leg of his career Grand Slam.

1965 U.S. Open

The 1965 U.S. Open was the 65th U.S. Open, held at Bellerive Country Club. Gary Player  defeated Kel Nagle of Australia in an 18-hole playoff to win his only U.S. Open title and complete the career Grand Slam joining Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan. This win launched him into golf immortality as he was and remains the only foreign-born winner to win all four Majors at age 29. It was the fourth of his Major titles.

1968 British Open

After four top five finishes in Majors in 1966 and 1967, Gary Player won the second of his three Open titles nearly a decade after his first Major Championship. He finished two strokes ahead of runners-up Bob Charles and Jack Nicklaus at Carnoustie Golf Links. It was the fifth of Player’s nine major titles.

1978 Masters

The 1978 Masters Tournament saw 42-year-old Gary Player create one of golf’s most memorable comebacks. He overcame a seven-shot deficit going into the final round to win his third Masters and ninth Major Championship. Player shot a record-tying 64 (−8) in the final round to win by one stroke over runners-up Rod Funseth, Tom Watson and 54-hole leader Hubert Green. He had to wait nearly one hour for the final group to finish.

1987 Senior TPC

By 1987 Gary Player was having so much fun on the Seniors Tour and was really enjoying competing again. For him, it really felt as though life begun at 50!

By the time the Senior Tournament Players Championship came around, Player was quite frustrated as it had been nearly 12 months since he’d won a tournament – despite numerous top five finishes.

Going into the week, once again, the man to beat was Chi Chi Rodriguez who was gunning for his fifth consecutive victory on tour that year. And in the first round, he was doing no different, opening with a tournament-record 65 making six birdies and an eagle to end the first round one shot ahead of Billy Maxwell. There were only six other players, including Player and Palmer who broke par that day. Player struggled with his putting during the second round, finishing with a 73, but bounced right back in the third round shooting a 69 – the best of the leading bunch. Sunday turned out to be a three-way battle between Gary Player, Chi Chi Rodriguez and Bruce Crampton. They were tied for the lead on the last hole where Player ran in a seven-foot birdie putt to win. “Beats a sudden-death play-off,” he said!

1988 Senior PGA Championship

By the start of the 1988 season Gary Player had been playing on the senior circuit for two full seasons and had eight victories. Significantly, three of those victories were Majors, which was a great thrill for him.

PGA Senior Championship was once again played Palm Beach Gardens in Florida at PGA National’s Champions Course. While the early going belonged to New Zealand lefthander Bob Charles, his relatively quiet 2nd round allowed others in the field to come within reach, including Arnold Palmer in a group of three just three shots behind.

At the end of a very windy 3rd round, Chi Chi Rodriguez and al Geiberger had the lead at 213 and, following a 73 and 72, Gary Player had come within one shot of the leaders. In the final round, he hit one of his best four-irons ever to just inches short of the cup on the 8th, and with the leaders struggling at the 8th and 9th, I never trailed after that. Birdies at the 14th and 16th followed and I ended up winning my second PGA Senior Championship by three shots.