Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the South Africa Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
Nine major championships and the career Grand Slam — a feat only five golfers in history have managed — won by a small man from Johannesburg who beat far bigger players by outworking them.
Gary Player was five foot seven and not naturally powerful, and compensated with a training regime that golf had not seen before: weights, running and diet, at a time when the sport regarded all three as eccentric. He wore black to absorb the sun, and was called the Black Knight for it.
He won nine major championships — three Open Championships, three Masters, two US PGAs and the 1965 US Open — and in doing so completed the career Grand Slam at twenty-nine, the third man ever to do it. Only Sarazen, Hogan, Nicklaus and Woods are in that company. He won more than one hundred and sixty tournaments worldwide across six decades, and nine more majors on the senior tour.
As the outstanding golfer from outside the United States in his era, he flew further than anyone in the sport's history to compete, and he was the player who made professional golf genuinely international.
He won nine major championships — three Open Championships, three Masters, two US PGAs and the 1965 US Open — and in doing so completed the career Grand Slam at twenty-nine, the third man ever to do it. Only Sarazen, Hogan, Nicklaus and Woods are in that company. He won more than one hundred and sixty tournaments worldwide across six decades, and nine more majors on the senior tour.
As the outstanding golfer from outside the United States in his era, he flew further than anyone in the sport's history to compete, and he was the player who made professional golf genuinely international.
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