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NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Nearly 70 years ago, Gary Player paid his first visit to England and he didn’t fare too well. He had missed the cut at Royal Liverpool, one of several cuts in a row he had failed to make.
Englishman Ben Wright, a reporter and former CBS golf commentator, recounted the conversation between Player and Hugh Lewis, a club professional in England who had missed the cut too, and was heading home to perform his usual duties.
“How can I possibly improve myself, Hughie, quickly, before I’m totally broke and have to go home?”
Lewis, in typically dour North Country tones, replied, “Gary, lad, why don’t you buy yourself a one-way ticket on a banana boat sailing for Johannesburg and find yourself an honest job? You’ve no business being out here.”
Wright recalled that Player was “plainly crushed, but in all truth, at the time he had an ugly, flat swing and apparently little aptitude for the game.”
Player would show them. He’d go on to win nine major championships, including the only previous PGA Championship contested at Aronimink Golf Club in 1962, besting Bob Goalby by a shot and Jack Nicklaus and George Bayer by three. He earned $13,000 for the win. It was the first of two PGA Championship victories for Gary Player, who also won in 1972 at Oakland Hills.
The 1962 PGA Championship formed part of a remarkable year in golf, with Player and fellow members of The Big Three, Arnold Palmer and Nicklaus, securing all four men’s major championships. Palmer prevailed at Augusta in a playoff over Player and Dow Finsterwald. Nicklaus edged Palmer in a playoff at Oakmont to take the U.S. Open. Player missed the cut at the British Open at Royal Troon, while Palmer played arguably the best golf of his career and won by six shots over Kel Nagle.
Remember, back in those days, the PGA Championship was the last major of the season. Player had lost to Palmer in a playoff at Augusta National, been a non-factor at the U.S. Open and arrived at Aronimink fresh off a missed cut, so he showed up at Aronimink at the lowest ebb of his fledgling career.
"I arrived there and it was tree-lined, and I loved it," Player said. "I thought I was going to take a 4-wood and I was quite physically strong then and, man, that was perfect for me keeping the ball in play."
Player led by three shots with five holes to play, but Goalby birdied the 14th and 16th holes to cut the South African’s lead to a single stroke. In hot and humid conditions, Player stood over his second shot on the 18th hole with history beckoning at one of the most revered courses in the United States. With his lead down to one stroke, Player faced one final challenge after his tee shot had found trouble in the trees.
The South African eased his ball around the corner with a big slice and found the center of the green.
“I will never forget the shot on 18. I took my 3-wood and aimed 100 yards to the left of the green, hitting a massive slice onto the green to set up a par,” Player recalled. "I really didn't want to go into a playoff with Bob Goalby."
Two putts later, after securing that all-important par, Player calmly reached down to collect his ball as he soaked up the crowd’s adulation. His name was etched onto the iconic Wanamaker Trophy with a winning score of 2-under 278.
“Aronimink holds a very special place in my heart,” Player said. “Winning there meant a great deal to me then, and it means even more now. It proved that I belonged at the very top early in my career.”
Having claimed the 1959 Open Championship and the 1961 Masters, winning the 1962 PGA Championship, Player needed only a U.S. Open title to complete the career Grand Slam and join the exalted company of Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen, the only two at the time to have achieved it. Player checked the final box by winning the 1965 U.S. Open at Bellerive at age 29.
Sixty-four years later, the PGA is back to Aronimink. The club fittingly presented Player with honorary membership and dedicated The Gary Player Lounge to him, in 2025, further cementing his enduring legacy.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Gary Player's 1962 PGA Championship at Aronimink
Continue reading...
Englishman Ben Wright, a reporter and former CBS golf commentator, recounted the conversation between Player and Hugh Lewis, a club professional in England who had missed the cut too, and was heading home to perform his usual duties.
“How can I possibly improve myself, Hughie, quickly, before I’m totally broke and have to go home?”
Lewis, in typically dour North Country tones, replied, “Gary, lad, why don’t you buy yourself a one-way ticket on a banana boat sailing for Johannesburg and find yourself an honest job? You’ve no business being out here.”
Wright recalled that Player was “plainly crushed, but in all truth, at the time he had an ugly, flat swing and apparently little aptitude for the game.”
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Player would show them. He’d go on to win nine major championships, including the only previous PGA Championship contested at Aronimink Golf Club in 1962, besting Bob Goalby by a shot and Jack Nicklaus and George Bayer by three. He earned $13,000 for the win. It was the first of two PGA Championship victories for Gary Player, who also won in 1972 at Oakland Hills.
The 1962 PGA Championship formed part of a remarkable year in golf, with Player and fellow members of The Big Three, Arnold Palmer and Nicklaus, securing all four men’s major championships. Palmer prevailed at Augusta in a playoff over Player and Dow Finsterwald. Nicklaus edged Palmer in a playoff at Oakmont to take the U.S. Open. Player missed the cut at the British Open at Royal Troon, while Palmer played arguably the best golf of his career and won by six shots over Kel Nagle.
Remember, back in those days, the PGA Championship was the last major of the season. Player had lost to Palmer in a playoff at Augusta National, been a non-factor at the U.S. Open and arrived at Aronimink fresh off a missed cut, so he showed up at Aronimink at the lowest ebb of his fledgling career.
"I arrived there and it was tree-lined, and I loved it," Player said. "I thought I was going to take a 4-wood and I was quite physically strong then and, man, that was perfect for me keeping the ball in play."
Player led by three shots with five holes to play, but Goalby birdied the 14th and 16th holes to cut the South African’s lead to a single stroke. In hot and humid conditions, Player stood over his second shot on the 18th hole with history beckoning at one of the most revered courses in the United States. With his lead down to one stroke, Player faced one final challenge after his tee shot had found trouble in the trees.
The South African eased his ball around the corner with a big slice and found the center of the green.
“I will never forget the shot on 18. I took my 3-wood and aimed 100 yards to the left of the green, hitting a massive slice onto the green to set up a par,” Player recalled. "I really didn't want to go into a playoff with Bob Goalby."
Two putts later, after securing that all-important par, Player calmly reached down to collect his ball as he soaked up the crowd’s adulation. His name was etched onto the iconic Wanamaker Trophy with a winning score of 2-under 278.
“Aronimink holds a very special place in my heart,” Player said. “Winning there meant a great deal to me then, and it means even more now. It proved that I belonged at the very top early in my career.”
Having claimed the 1959 Open Championship and the 1961 Masters, winning the 1962 PGA Championship, Player needed only a U.S. Open title to complete the career Grand Slam and join the exalted company of Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen, the only two at the time to have achieved it. Player checked the final box by winning the 1965 U.S. Open at Bellerive at age 29.
Sixty-four years later, the PGA is back to Aronimink. The club fittingly presented Player with honorary membership and dedicated The Gary Player Lounge to him, in 2025, further cementing his enduring legacy.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Gary Player's 1962 PGA Championship at Aronimink
Continue reading...
