Editing Gary Player (section)

{{short description|South African professional golfer (born 1935)}}
{{Use South African English|date=November 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox golfer
| name              = Gary Player<br>{{nobold|{{post-nominals|country=ZAR|DMS|OIG}}}}
| image             = All Black (cropped).jpg
| caption           = Player in 2008
| fullname          = Gary James Player
| nickname          = The Black Knight,<br>Mr. Fitness
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1935|11|1|df=y}}
| birth_place       = [[Johannesburg]], [[Union of South Africa]]
| death_date        = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|1935|11|1|df=y}} -->
| death_place       =
| height            = 5 ft 6 in
| weight            = {{convert|150|lb|kg st|abbr=on}}
| nationality       = {{flagicon|ZAF|1994}} South Africa
| residence         = [[Jupiter Island, Florida]], U.S.<br>[[Plettenberg Bay]], South Africa
| spouse            = {{marriage|Vivienne Verwey|1957|2021|end=d.}}
| children          = 6
| yearpro           = 1953
| retired           = <!-- Year retired -->
| tour              = 
| extour            = [[PGA Tour]]<br>[[Southern Africa Tour]]<br>[[Champions Tour]]
| prowins           = 159
| pgawins           = 24
| eurowins          = 4
| japwins           = <!-- Number of Japan Golf Tour wins -->
| asiawins          = <!-- Number of Asian Tour wins -->
| sunwins           = 20
| auswins           = 2
| otherwins         = 63 (regular)<br>6 (senior)
| champwins         = 22 ([[List of golfers with most PGA Tour Champions wins|Tied-7th all-time]])
| seneurowins       = 3
| majorwins         = 9
| masters           = '''Won''': [[1961 Masters Tournament|1961]], [[1974 Masters Tournament|1974]], [[1978 Masters Tournament|1978]]
| usopen            = '''Won''': [[1965 U.S. Open (golf)|1965]]
| open              = '''Won''': [[1959 Open Championship|1959]], [[1968 Open Championship|1968]], [[1974 Open Championship|1974]]
| pga               = '''Won''': [[1962 PGA Championship|1962]], [[1972 PGA Championship|1972]]
| wghofid           = gary-player
| wghofyear         = 1974
| award1            = [[PGA Tour#Money list winners|PGA Tour<br>money list winner]]
| year1             = [[1961 PGA Tour|1961]]
| award2            = [[Southern Africa Tour#Order of Merit winners|Southern Africa Tour<br>Order of Merit winner]]
| year2             = [[1976–77 Southern Africa Tour|1976–77]], [[1979–80 Southern Africa Tour|1979–80]]
| award3            = [[PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award|PGA Tour Lifetime<br>Achievement Award]]
| year3             = 2012
| award4            = [[GCSAA Old Tom Morris Award]]
| year4             = 2020
| awardssection     = #Distinctions and honours
}}
'''Gary James Player''' (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired [[professional golfer]] who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pga.com/news/golf-buzz/10-greatest-golfers-all-time |title=15 Greatest Golfers of All Time |access-date=25 August 2018 |last=Auclair |first=T.J. |date=12 August 2018 |publisher=[[PGA of America]] }}</ref> During his career, Player won nine [[Men's major golf championships|major championships]] on the regular tour and nine major championships on the [[Champions Tour]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pgatour.com/players/player.01955.gary-player.html |title=Gary Player PGA Tour Profile |publisher=PGA Tour |access-date=18 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.worldgolfhalloffame.org/gary-player/ |title=Player, Gary |publisher=World Golf Hall of Fame |access-date=18 January 2019}}</ref><ref name=gnn>{{Cite web |url=https://thegolfnewsnet.com/golfnewsnetteam/2018/11/21/pga-tour-champions-recognizes-gary-players-senior-british-open-wins-major-titles-111522/ |title=PGA Tour Champions recognizes Gary Player's Senior British Open wins as major titles |website=thegolfnewsnet.com |date=21 November 2018 |access-date=18 January 2019}}</ref> At the age of 29, Player won the [[1965 U.S. Open (golf)|1965 U.S. Open]] and became the first non-American to win all four majors in a career, known as the [[Grand Slam (golf)#Career Grand Slam|career Grand Slam]]. At the time, he was the youngest player to do this, though [[Jack Nicklaus]] (26) and [[Tiger Woods]] (24) subsequently broke this record. Player became only the third golfer in history to win the Career Grand Slam, following [[Ben Hogan]] and [[Gene Sarazen]], and only Nicklaus, Woods and [[Rory McIlroy]] have performed the feat since. He won over 160 professional tournaments on six continents over seven decades and was inducted into the [[World Golf Hall of Fame]] in 1974.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kim |first=Jae-Ha |title=Go Away With Gary Player |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/sns-celeb-travel-with-gary-player-20131001,0,5347613.story |access-date=7 October 2013 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=2 October 2013}}</ref>

Nicknamed the Black Knight, Mr. Fitness, and the International Ambassador of Golf,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pgatour.com/players/player.01955.gary-player.html/profile |publisher=PGA Tour |title=PGA Tour Media Guide – Gary Player |access-date=24 October 2013}}</ref> he is also a renowned [[golf course architect]] with more than 400 design projects on five continents throughout the world. Player has also authored or co-written 36 books on golf instruction, design, philosophy, motivation and fitness. On 7 January 2021, Player was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by United States President [[Donald Trump]].

The Player Group was established by Marc Player and operates The Player Foundation, which has a primary objective of promoting underprivileged education around the world. In 1983, The Player Foundation established the Blair Atholl Schools in Johannesburg, South Africa, which has educational facilities for more than 500 students from kindergarten through eighth grade. In 2013 it celebrated its 30th anniversary with charity golf events in [[London]], [[Palm Beach, Florida|Palm Beach]], [[Shanghai]] and [[Cape Town]], bringing its total of funds raised to over US$60 million.<ref name="Economic Times">{{cite news |last=Sangani |first=Priyanka |date=27 September 2013 |title=Remain positive and confident to perform under pressure: Gary Player |newspaper=The Economic Times |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/corporate-dossier/remain-positive-and-confident-to-perform-under-pressure-gary-player/articleshow/23109451.cms |access-date=7 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://garyplayerinvitational.com |title=Gary Player Invitational |publisher=garyplayerinvitational.com |access-date=23 October 2013}}</ref>