Set for his final bow
Player's record 52nd appearance will be last
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It was a rudely presumptive question, quickly amended by a more diplomatic reporter, but Gary Player didn't seem to take offense.
What will the 73-year-old Player's emotions be when he walks up the hill on 18 for the final time Friday afternoon?
Make that Sunday evening, someone else added.
"One's a realist," Player said with a laugh. "And one's a dreamer."
The forecast for Player's final Masters Tournament round -- whichever day it might be -- is black with a 100 percent chance of blubbering.
"I'm a damn big baby," Player said. "Arnold (Palmer) and I are two big babies with crying. We just love people and we cry so easily. But really, I've made up my mind. I'm going to come up there ... it's going to be tough. I think I will cry."
Player -- who announced Monday that this will be his record 52nd and final Masters appearance -- might be the toughest crybaby who ever played the game. The Black Knight has been traveling the world for six decades, winning major golf championships and lecturing people on taking care of their bodies.
If given the opportunity by Augusta National Golf Club, he should eventually continue that lesson when he joins Palmer as an honorary starter.
"I'll even exercise harder to make sure I out-drive Arnold," Player said.
He's not joking.
Player is among the game's fiercest competitors. He brought fitness to golf long before Tiger Woods made it cool. There is a reason Player has lasted longer than any of his Big Three associates -- Palmer and Jack Nicklaus -- at the Masters.
"It is encouraging when you have exercised as hard as I have and watched my diet pretty well, that I'm able to play 52 Masters," he said. "It's a very encouraging thought."
Player first drove down Magnolia Lane in 1957 as a 21-year-old kid yet to win anything on the PGA Tour. The year before, he had finished fourth at the British Open in his major championship debut, but playing Augusta signaled his debut on the global stage.
"I arrived here, I doubt whether I had $5,000 to my name, and I drove through these gates, and you can imagine I was in absolute awe," he said. "Overwhelmed, in fact."
Not for long. Four years later, he became the first international player to win a green jacket and lead the PGA Tour money list.
By age 29, he joined Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan as the only players at the time to complete a professional career grand slam -- achieving it a year before Nicklaus.
"I wanted to beat Jack Nicklaus to do that so badly, and I did it," Player said.
He eventually won nine majors and added nine more on the senior tour. He has been called golf's greatest world ambassador -- a title lived up to with more than 14 million miles flown.
"It's nice to feel that possibly my wins I experienced here encouraged the international players to realize that they could win," he said.
Time has finally convinced Player, however, that he can no longer handle an Augusta National course that has simply grown too long for a 73-year-old man.
"I'm hitting the ball so short now, I can hear it land," he said. "And the hole is getting the size of Bayer aspirin.
"The golf course is so long. It is just so long. I mean, I'm hitting a wood to almost every single hole."
Player hasn't made the cut at Augusta since 1998 -- the year before the club started adding length in an effort to counter technology.
Countryman Ernie Els joked with Player last week that one of his idol's finest rounds in the Masters wasn't the 64 he shot in the final round to win the 1978 Masters at age 42, but the 77 he shot in the second round two years ago at age 71.
"The greens were hard, and you tied something like 22 guys and beat 25 guys," said Els, who shot 76. "That was one of your best rounds."
"I've managed to break 80 the last two years, but it's getting to a stage now where I don't know whether I can do that out here," Player said. "It's so long, and I'm getting weaker."
Player's favorite Masters achievement is becoming the oldest winner at the time in 1978, when he shot a closing 30 to rally from seven strokes down.
"Because I was always working out, it was just a reward for me," he said.
His worst Masters moment is missing the chance to become the first back-to-back winner in 1962 when Palmer sank an impossible birdie putt on the 16th hole to spark a rally from two down and eventually win in an 18-hole playoff.
"I've always said, when you finish second only your wife and your dog remember it," Player said. "That's if you've got a good wife and a good dog."
Defending champion Trevor Immelman played a practice round with Player on Monday and lamented that his longtime mentor will retire.
"Obviously, he's been a father figure to me," Immelman said. "Mr. Player has been an incredible role model for me. It's sad in a way. But he's had an incredible run. He's been a great champion and a great ambassador for our game and our country."
Player won't be sad, shedding only tears of appreciation when the Augusta galleries stand for his last Masters walk.
"I think the word that comes to mind is that I am very, very grateful and thankful," Player said. "And I've never taken anything for granted. I realize that the talent that I had was loaned to me."
That loan lasted 52 incredible years at Augusta.
Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.
1957: Tied for 24th in first appearance
1961
54-hole leader: Player took control with a third-round 69 to open a four-shot lead over defending champion Arnold Palmer, but he had to wait an extra day as heavy rain washed out Sunday's play.
Monday finish: Palmer came to the 18th hole with a one-shot edge, but he played a little too nonchalantly. Facing a 15-footer to save bogey and force a playoff, Palmer missed to give Player his Masters win. The South African was the first foreign player to slip on the green jacket.
In Player's words: "It was a very important thing because it gave encouragement for many to follow suit."
1973: Had major surgery, did not play
1974
Quite a comeback: Player's reputation as a fitness fanatic is well-deserved, but even he had to miss five months in the 1973 season because of major surgery. That meant his streak of playing in the Masters was temporarily halted. Coming in with little fanfare, he opened with a pair of 71s to put himself in contention.
Shot of the day: Battling Dave Stockton and Tom Weiskopf down the stretch, Player sealed the win with the shot of the tournament on the 17th hole in the final round. Facing a 140-yard shot, Player hit 9-iron to less than a foot to secure birdie and a two-shot win.
In Player's words: "I took the 9-iron, and after I hit it I kind of pushed it on the bag, and I told my caddie I'm not going to need a putter. And there it was, six inches from the hole."
1978
The unexpected: Four years removed from his last victory on the PGA Tour, the 42-year-old came from seven shots behind in the final round to win.
Birdie-fest: Player was five shots behind going into the final nine holes. A string of birdies at Nos. 10, 12, 13, 15 and 16 put him in contention. A 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole completed a back nine of 30 to match the course record of 64.
In Player's words: "Coming back in 30, actually touching the hole three times (with putts that didn't fall). If I had done that, they would have changed the course 20 years ago."
1998: Became oldest to make cut at 62
2008: Made a record 51st appearance
Masters Record
| Year | Place | Score | Round | Money | |||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
| 2008 | 93 | 17 | 83 | 78 | $ 10,000 | ||
| 2007 | 89 | 16 | 83 | 77 | $ 0 | ||
| 2006 | 85 | 16 | 79 | 81 | $ 0 | ||
| 2005 | 90 | 23 | 88 | 79 | $ 0 | ||
| 2004 | 90 | 18 | 82 | 80 | $ 0 | ||
| 2003 | 84 | 18 | 82 | 80 | $ 0 | ||
| 2002 | 82 | 14 | 80 | 78 | $ 0 | ||
| 2001 | 67 | 5 | 73 | 76 | $ 5,000 | ||
| 2000 | 65 | 6 | 76 | 74 | $ 5,000 | ||
| 1999 | 89 | 14 | 79 | 79 | $ 5,000 | ||
| 1998 | 46 | 14 | 77 | 72 | 78 | 75 | $ 11,200 |
| 1997 | 53 | 7 | 76 | 75 | $ 5,000 | ||
| 1996 | 56 | 5 | 73 | 76 | $ 1,500 | ||
| 1995 | 68 | 5 | 76 | 73 | $ 1,500 | ||
| 1994 | 52 | 6 | 71 | 79 | $ 1,500 | ||
| 1993 | 60 | 14 | 71 | 76 | 75 | 80 | $ 3,700 |
| 1992 | 68 | 4 | 75 | 73 | $ 1,500 | ||
| 1991 | 55 | 2 | 72 | 74 | $ 1,500 | ||
| 1990 | 24 | 3 | 73 | 74 | 68 | 76 | $ 11,000 |
| 1989 | 56 | 9 | 76 | 77 | $ 1,500 | ||
| 1988 | 54 | 9 | 78 | 75 | $ 1,500 | ||
| 1987 | 35 | 9 | 75 | 75 | 71 | 76 | $ 4,257 |
| 1986 | 49 | 6 | 77 | 73 | $ 1,500 | ||
| 1985 | 36 | 6 | 71 | 75 | 73 | 75 | $ 3,612 |
| 1984 | 21 | -1 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 71 | $ 6,475 |
| 1983 | 62 | 7 | 73 | 78 | $ 1,610 | ||
| 1982 | 15 | 4 | 74 | 73 | 71 | 74 | $ 5,850 |
| 1981 | 15 | E | 73 | 73 | 71 | 71 | $ 5,500 |
| 1980 | 6 | -5 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 70 | $ 9,958 |
| 1979 | 17 | E | 71 | 72 | 74 | 71 | $ 2,700 |
| 1978 | 1 | -11 | 72 | 72 | 69 | 64 | $ 45,000 |
| 1977 | 19 | -1 | 71 | 70 | 72 | 74 | $ 2,500 |
| 1976 | 28 | 7 | 73 | 73 | 70 | 79 | $ 1,950 |
| 1975 | 30 | 4 | 72 | 74 | 73 | 73 | $ 1,950 |
| 1974 | 1 | -10 | 71 | 71 | 66 | 70 | $ 35,000 |
| 1972 | 10 | 3 | 73 | 75 | 72 | 71 | $ 3,600 |
| 1971 | 6 | -4 | 72 | 72 | 71 | 69 | $ 5,600 |
| 1970 | 3 | -8 | 74 | 68 | 68 | 70 | $ 14,000 |
| 1969 | 33 | 7 | 74 | 70 | 75 | 76 | $ 1,425 |
| 1968 | 7 | -6 | 72 | 67 | 71 | 72 | $ 3,460 |
| 1967 | 6 | -1 | 75 | 69 | 72 | 71 | $ 5,600 |
| 1966 | 28 | 11 | 74 | 77 | 76 | 72 | $ 1,175 |
| 1965 | 2 | -8 | 65 | 73 | 69 | 73 | $ 10,200 |
| 1964 | 5 | -2 | 69 | 72 | 72 | 73 | $ 3,700 |
| 1963 | 5 | 1 | 71 | 74 | 74 | 70 | $ 4,000 |
| 1962 | 2 | -8 | 67 | 71 | 71 | 71 | $ 12,000 |
| 1961 | 1 | -8 | 69 | 68 | 69 | 74 | $ 20,000 |
| 1960 | 6 | 1 | 72 | 71 | 72 | 74 | $ 2,800 |
| 1959 | 8 | 2 | 73 | 75 | 71 | 71 | $ 1,740 |
| 1958 | 44 | 6 | 74 | 76 | $ 350 | ||
| 1957 | 24 | 9 | 77 | 72 | 75 | 73 | $ 700 |
