Gary Player (born 1 November 1935) is a retired South African professional golfer, widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of golf. Over his career, Player accumulated nine major championships on the regular tour and six Champions Tour major championship victories, as well as three Senior British Open Championships on the European Senior Tour. At the age of 29, Player won the 1965 U.S. Open and became the only non-American to win all four majors, known as the career Grand Slam.
Nicknamed “the Black Knight”, “Mr. Fitness”, and “the International Ambassador of Golf”, Player has been prolific as a golf course architect with more than 400 design projects throughout the world. He has also authored or co-written 36 books on golf instruction, design, philosophy, motivation and fitness. In 2021, Player was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by United States president Donald Trump.
Gary Player was inducted into the South African Hall of Fame on November 6, 2017.
