Editing Gary Player (section)

==Background and family==
[[File:Gary Player with wife and her mother 1961.jpg|thumb|left|Player with his wife (holding object) and her mother, who were his dedicated supporters at golf tournaments, 1961]]

Player was born in [[Johannesburg]], South Africa, the youngest of Harry and Muriel Player's three children. When he was eight years old his mother died from cancer. Although his father was often away from home working in the gold mines, he did manage to take a loan in order to buy a set of clubs for Gary to begin playing golf. The Virginia Park golf course in Johannesburg is where Player first gained his love for golf. At the age of 14, Player played his first round of golf and parred the first three holes. At age 16, he announced that he would become number one in the world. At age 17, he became a professional golfer.

Player married wife Vivienne Verwey (sister of professional golfer [[Bobby Verwey]]) on 19 January 1957, four years after turning professional. Together they had six children: Jennifer, Marc, Wayne, Michele, Theresa, and Amanda. He also has 22 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/6904576.stm |work=BBC News  |title=Golf legend Player in drugs claim |date=18 July 2007 |access-date=3 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sapeople.com/2018/01/23/gary-player-winner-golf-course-love/ |title=Gary Player - A Winner on the Golf Course, and in Love |date=23 January 2018 |website=SAPeople - Your Worldwide South African Community |access-date=18 January 2019}}</ref> During the early days of his career, Player would travel from tournament to tournament with his wife, six children, their nanny and a tutor in tow. Vivienne died of cancer in August 2021.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thesouthafrican.com/sport/golf/rip-gary-player-wife-dies-breaking-vivienne-player/ |work=The South African |title=Gary Player's wife dies |first=Garrin |last=Lambley |date=18 August 2021 |access-date=18 August 2021}}</ref>

Player's eldest son, Marc, owns and operates The Player Group, which exclusively represents Player in all his commercial activities, including all endorsements, licensing, merchandising, golf course design, and real estate development.<ref name=fortune>{{cite magazine |last=Roberts |first=Daniel |title=Cowboy on the Green |magazine=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] |date=30 June 2014 |volume=169 |issue=9 |pages=18–19}}</ref>

Player is the brother of [[Ian Player]], a South African environmental educator, activist and conservationist.<ref name="ianplayerwebsite">{{cite web |publisher=Ian Player Official Web Site|url=http://ianplayer.com/ |title=About Ian Player |access-date=9 March 2011}}</ref>