1972 PGA Championship

The Black Knight won his second PGA Championship two strokes ahead of runners-up Tommy Aaron and Jim Jamieson. On hole 16, Player faced a near impossible lie when his drive landed in front on a giant willow tree. With little room to spare, he stuck his approach shot just feet from the hole.  It was the sixth of Player’s Major titles.

1986 Senior PGA Championship

Gary Player turned 50 in November 1985, which of course gave him a whole new professional career to look forward to as the Champions Tour was well up and running. Having won his first event, the Quadel Seniors at Boca Grove, Florida, Player was looking forward to 1986, his first full year on the Champions Tour (or Senior Tour as it was known as then).

The PGA Seniors Championship was the second event of the year and Player was feeling very good about his game.

An opening 68 on a brisk Thursday morning at Champions course at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens got him an early lead in the tournament – a lead that he was able to hold onto throughout the event. He managed another 68, then a 77 and ended with a seven-shot lead over Lee Elder. Though Elder managed to pull within two shots, a 72 to his 71 in the final round was enough for Gary Player to clinch his first senior Major Championship!

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.

1990 Senior British Open

Player came from behind in his customary dramatic fashion to overcome lashing rain and heavy winds at Turnberry to win his second British Senior Open. This performance went down in history as the biggest come-from-behind victory in Senior British Open Championship history at Turnberry. Despite posting a 5-over 75 on the final day, Player rallied from five strokes down to edge Deane Beman and Brian Waites by a stroke.