The greatest golfers of all time
Who are the greatest golfers of all time? National Club Golfer takes a look at some of greatest golfers that have played the game
Gary Player
Majors
Masters – 1961, 1974, 1978
US Open – 1965
The Open – 1959, 1968, 1974
PGA Championship – 1962, 1974
Gary Player first played a round of golf at the age of 14 and parred his first three holes. Three years later he turned professional in 1953.
The South African won his first professional event just two years later in 1955 at the East Rand Open, this started an impressive career resulting in 164 professional wins, putting him third behind Sam Snead and Roberto de Vincenzo.
The South African won his first major championship at Muirfield in the 1959 Open and it was the first of three Open titles. Player also became the first player to win the Open in three different decades.
He won his first of his three green jackets at the 1961 Masters. Bad weather halted play during the final round and it was decided that the rounds scores would be erased leading to a full replay of the final round despite the fact that 11 players had already finished.
The third leg of the Grand Slam was completed in 1962 when he won the PGA Championship by a single stroke over Bob Goalby. Player became the third player to win the career Grand Slam with his 1965 US Open victory. He was the first non-American player to win the US Open since 1929.
Tom Irwin
Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.
