The Order of Ikhamanga in Gold

Gary Player (1935 - ) Awarded for:

His lifetime of achievement and excellence in golf, and for outstanding contribution to the development of non-racial sport in South Africa.

Profile of Gary Player

Gary Player was born on 11 January 1935 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Player’s career spanning almost 60 years is one of relentless success. He has won nine major titles: three masters; three British Opens; two PGA Championships; and one US Open. He has won all four Major Championships (one of only five players who hold this distinction). He has won at least one Tour event in five different decades and is the only player in the 20th century to win a British Open in three different decades. Altogether Player has had more than 160 major victories.

When he turned 50 at the end of 1985, Player won his first senior tournament and by 1997 he had won his ninth ‘Senior Major’, thereby equalling the nine Majors he won between 1959 and 1978.

Gary Player has been integrally involved in the provision of golf facilities and equipment and promoting golf among previously disadvantaged sectors of our people. He is widely regarded as one of golf’s all-time greats and is a living South African sporting legend.