Gary Player is suing his son Marc and his nephew Damian, for “having sold or attempted to sell, despite an agreement that asked for their return, memorabilia of the 9-time Major champion for large sums of money”, the South African’s lawyers say.
Gary Player, statements
“Only after many unsuccessful attempts, Gary Player has decided to assert his reasons”, the statements of Stuart Singer, one of the lawyers of one of the symbolic players of golf. Gary Player, born November 1, 1935 in Johannesburg, is a South African golfer considered one of the best in the history of the sport.
Professional in 1953, he is one of the five golfers to have won the four major tournaments (nine victories in total): the Masters (1961, 1974 and 1978), the American Open (1965), the British Open (1959 , 1968 and 1974) and the PGA Championship (1962 and 1972).
He was the first non-American to win the Masters and formed a triumvirate with Americans Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer that the American press of the 1960s dubbed “The Big Three” Gary Player, born in Johannesburg (South Africa), comes from a poor background, he is the youngest of the three children of Harry and Muriel Player (one of his brothers Ian Player is a supporter of the protection of the environment renowned in particular for the safeguarding of rhinos).
At the age of eight, he lost his mother to cancer. Although his father is often away from home because of his work as a miner, he manages to obtain a loan to finance his son’s golf equipment. Gary therefore started golf quite late (whose competitions he followed through the newspapers, in particular the performances of his idol Ben Hogan) on the course of “Virginia Park Golf” by becoming the assistant of pro Jock Vervey in a country where the golf is still a reserved sport (for the rich and the whites).
At sixteen, he announced his wish to become the best golfer in the world and turned professional the following year. He married Vivienne (daughter of Jock Vervey) on January 19, 1957, four years after his professional debut.
With her, he will have six children: Jennifer, Marc, Wayne, Michele, Theresa and Amanda (he now has 22 grandchildren). At the beginning of his career, he traveled from tournament to tournament with his whole family, accompanied by a nanny and a teacher. His eldest son Marc takes care of his father in commercial activities including the architecture of golf courses.
