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.

1988 Senior British Open

Gary Player came to the Senior British Open at Turnberry in Scotland having had a reasonably successful Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes just the week before, so he was keen to do well.

He had been playing very well on the Champions Tour in 1988 and took that confidence into the first round at the Ailsa course at Turnberry, opening with a five-under par 65. This gave Player the tournament lead, which he was able to hold onto throughout, despite some fine golf from a charging Billy Casper.

The final round was typically blustery, but two good birdies on the 12th and 16th allowed the Black Knight to win his first Senior Open Championships by one shot over Billy Casper.

1988 US Senior Open

As good a year as Player had on the Champions Tour in 1987, 1988 was quite unbelievable. In the 12 starts leading up to the US Senior Open, he had won three times and had not been out of the top 10.
In 1988 Medinah was a typically tough USGA layout, with narrow fairways and penal rough. The USGA certainly didn’t go easy on the seniors, Player recalls. So it wasn’t surprising when he opened with a 74, his worse round of the year – and to make matters worse, this put him five shots behind first-round leaders Billy Casper and Walt Zembriski. Luckily there was plenty of golf to be played.

Billy Casper extended his lead to four shots after the second round, but after Player’s third-round 71 they were neck-and-neck going into the last. It was New Zealand’s Bob Charles who made the early charge in the final round and he was three ahead by the 14th, playing superb golf, but three bogeys brought Player and Charles level. Both shot par on the 18th and finished with a tie after 72 holes. Player was able to clinch victory after an 18-hole play-off, and better still, back-to-back US Senior Opens… What a proud moment!