On Thursday at Augusta a 71 year old South African grandfather of 18 will tee off at the Masters with a 31 year old American and a 21 year old French amateur.
Gary Player, a nine times major winner, is about to embark on his 50th Masters campaign. This, he claims, is his penultimate visit to the event. Next year he will play for the last time and so surpass Arnold Palmer’s record of most Masters’ appearances.
It would be a shame if Player’s appearance at Augusta turns into another debate about when old golfers should be put out to pasture. Anyone who saw the remarkable ovation afforded Jack Nicklaus on his final outing at the British Open can’t fail to recognise the esteem past greats are held in by the golfing public.
And Player’s record – nine majors over 19 years encompassing a career grand slam and taking in the eras of Palmer, Nicklaus and Tom Watson – is up there with the very best.
More than that, however, Player’s commitment – to golf, to his family, to charity and to self improvement – is a salutary lesson to today’s golfers. In age of scholarships, pampering and multi-million sponsorship deals Player embodies an era when golf was about more than making all the money you would ever need by finishing 50th on the money list.
When the young French amateur Julien Guerrier tees off with Player tomorrow he should savour every moment and memorise every utterance. Each generation feels they are writing a new book. But each generation can learn from the greats from another age.
That’s why Nick Faldo so devotedly courted Ben Hogan when he wanted to make the leap from good to great. And that’s why past masters should be allowed to dictate the timing of their grand goodbye.
