The South African golf legend says he is the third best player of all time and is preparing not just for turning 90 – but is already targeting 100
Gary Player will celebrate his 90th birthday on Saturday after declaring himself the third best player of all time – and revealing his secrets to living to 100.
The South African was the only non-American to complete the career Grand Slam of Majors until Rory McIlroy joined the exclusive six-man club at the Masters this year. The Black Knight won nine Majors – the same as Ben Hogan – and is joint fourth on the all-time list behind Jack Nicklaus (18), Tiger Woods (15) and Walter Hagen (11).
But Player has declared his friend Nicklaus as the GOAT ahead of his fellow American superstar Woods – with Player putting himself in third spot.
“Jack is No.1, Tiger No.2, and I’m No.3” Player told the Palm Beach Post. “There’s not even a question. How I judge the best players of all time is I say: ‘There’s the record book’.
“That’s the only way. It’s the record book that’s on paper. And Nicklaus has got the best record. There’s no question.
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“If Tiger Woods had made the right choices, he would have been the greatest player that ever lived. But the worst saying in athletics, in sports, is if. Because ‘if’ is immaterial. It’s the bottom line.”
Nicklaus said: “Pretty good assessment. Not about me, but about him!”
Player revealed he thinks about living to 100 “every day” of his life and carries in his wallet a laminated card with the 12 keys to living to 100: “Under eat. Exercise. Read. Prayer/meditate. Love. Ice bath. Gratitude. Sleep. Laugh a lot. Keep busy. Friends. Do things you don’t want to do.”
Player, who stands 5ft 6in, weighs just over 10 stone and has a 31-inch waist, said: “I am 90! But really, my body is a man of, I’d say 60. All the gerontologists varied to a degree, but basically what they all agreed on to live a long time is under eat.
“Everybody’s eating too much. Obesity, which is killing them. “
The Florida-based legend, who will spend this weekend in Sun City in South Africa, added: “I think people retire too early. To me, it’s a death warrant.
“They say: ‘I’ve worked hard, I’m going to take it easy.’ And yes, literally, they do. They go home and they sit there and they over-eat and they watch television and they die within three years.
“I don’t believe in retirement. If you don’t use it, you lose it. But it’s easier to get a camel through the eye of a needle than to get people to exercise today, to look after their bodies.”
Player still works out, plays golf regularly and claims to have shot rounds lower than his age over 3,000 times in a row. And he will become the oldest ever competitor at the 2025 PNC Championship – where family members play together – at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando next month.
His grandchildren will hold their annual play off to decide who will partner him,
“I am not sure there could be a better tonic for staying young and loving life than being able to play golf with your family, while enjoying the thrill of competing against so many golfing greats and their families.,” he said.