Golf Alarab · Player profile
Gary Player
The Black Knight who carried golf to every corner of the world.
Gary Player built one of golf’s most far-reaching careers: nine major championships, 165 professional tournament victories across six continents and a place among the sport’s select Career Grand Slam winners. His record reflects international success, relentless fitness and a lifelong commitment to practice.
From Johannesburg to the world stage
A South African teenager whose ambition became a career of global scale.
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 1, 1935, Gary Player began playing golf at 14 and turned professional in 1953, aged 17. In the years that followed, he travelled relentlessly between tours and continents, building a reputation for disciplined preparation and the stamina to compete week after week. His early breakthrough at the 1959 Open Championship at Muirfield brought him international recognition at just 23.
Player won all four men’s major championships and completed the Career Grand Slam with his victory at the 1965 U.S. Open. His nine major titles comprise three Masters (1961, 1974 and 1978), three Open Championships (1959, 1968 and 1974), the 1965 U.S. Open and two PGA Championships (1962 and 1972). He is one of only five men to have completed the career Grand Slam, and the only golfer in that group to complete a Senior Tour Grand Slam as well.
The totals stretch beyond the majors. Player’s official biography records 165 professional tournament victories over seven decades and on six continents. He also became a successful golf-course designer, worked as a global ambassador for the sport and used his public profile to support education and charitable causes through the Gary and Vivienne Player Foundation.
A place in golf’s rarest club
Nine majors and a Career Grand Slam completed in 1965
Player’s 1965 U.S. Open title at Bellerive completed his set of all four men’s major championships. His victories at Augusta and The Open in 1974 made him only the second player in the modern era to win those two majors in the same year, a feat that underlined his ability to peak across different courses and conditions.
Career timeline
A sequence of landmark wins across six decades of professional golf.
Turns professional
Begins a career that would take him to professional tournaments on six continents.
First Open Championship
Wins at Muirfield, announcing himself as an international champion at age 23.
First Masters title
Wins his first green jacket at Augusta National.
PGA Championship
Adds the PGA Championship to the Masters and Open titles in his growing major record.
Completes the Career Grand Slam
Wins the U.S. Open, becoming one of the select golfers to have won all four men’s majors.
Second Open title
Wins again at Carnoustie, adding a second Claret Jug.
A memorable major double
Wins both the Masters and Open Championship in the same year.
Third Masters title
Captures a third green jacket, bringing his major tally to nine.
Signature achievements
A career defined by major titles, worldwide victories and a lasting influence on the game.
Major championships
Nine major titles
Three Masters, three Open Championships, one U.S. Open and two PGA Championships.
Career Grand Slam
Completed in 1965
Won each of the four men’s major championships during his career.
Worldwide record
165 professional victories
The Open’s official profile records 165 professional wins across six continents.
Masters
Three green jackets
Won at Augusta National in 1961, 1974 and 1978.
The Open
Three Claret Jugs
Won in 1959, 1968 and 1974.
Senior golf
Senior Grand Slam
Also completed the Senior Tour Grand Slam, a rare achievement even among major champions.
Fitness, discipline and legacy
A champion who made preparation and international travel part of his identity.
Player’s approach to golf was shaped by physical conditioning, repetition and a belief that preparation should be as demanding as competition. Nicknamed the Black Knight for his customary black attire, he was also known for travelling widely to play, competing in fields outside his home country long before the professional game became as global as it is today.
His post-playing work has been equally international. Player designed golf courses on several continents and supported education initiatives for disadvantaged children. In competition, however, his defining achievement remains the combination of nine majors and 165 professional wins, capped by the Career Grand Slam in 1965.
