Gary Player is one of the most successful golfers in history….while ranking third behind Roberto de Vicenzo and Sam Snead in total professional wins with at least 164….and is tied for fourth in major championship victories with nine…..who along with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus is often referred to as one of “The Big Three” golfers of his era from the late 1950’s through the late 1970’s….a time when golf boomed in the United States and around the world….and was greatly enhanced by expanded television coverage. Along with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods….Gary Player is one of only five players to win golf’s “career Grand Slam”. He completed the Grand Slam in 1965 at the age of twenty-nine.
Player competed regularly on the U.S. based PGA Tour from the late 1950’s…..where he led the Tour money list in 1961….and went on to accumulate 24 career Tour titles. He also played an exceptionally busy schedule all over the world….and he has been called the world’s most traveled athlete….after logging more than 26 million km (16 million mi) in air travel….when in 2005 it was estimated that he had “probably flown further…than any athlete in history”.
