ORLANDO – Gary Player rolled in a birdie putt at the 18th hole on Saturday and kicked his right leg high in the air in celebration.
“Better late than never,” he said of what was a rare birdie for he and his grandson, Alexander Hall, 16, in posting a first-round scramble score of 72 at the PNC Championship. [Gary would hole an eagle putt a day later for 62 and kick his leg even higher in celebration.]
Better late than never could also apply for Player, 89, finding love once again with Susan Waterfall, a New York native and his new girlfriend after Player’s wife, Vivienne, of 64 years died in 2021.“She’s 83, oh, she’s young,” Player said. “But isn’t it amazing that at 89 you can find a girlfriend. She loves everything I love: golf, fishing, gym, work, reading, opera.”
Player recounted that mutual friends had been trying to introduce Player to Waterfall for quite some time but it wasn’t meant to be until a few months ago when Player accepted an honorary membership at Shell Bay Club in Miami. Player joked that he asked the club’s owner how much joining the membership cost. When told that the fee was $1.3 million, Player replied, “I’d rather have the money.”
But he attended an event at the club as a courtesy, where he finally met Waterfall.
“I put my arm around her and I said, ‘I love this country, America, so much. I’ve got to have an American girlfriend,’ ” Player recounted. “She blushes, doesn’t say anything. So I said, ‘Will you come to dinner with me?’ She comes to dinner.”
Two days later, he phoned her and invited her to join him at Gleneagles in Scotland, where they went fishing.
“She catches a 10-pound salmon. What do I catch? A frog! So they put it in the hotel: Susan Waterfall, catch of the day. Boob of the day, Gary Player.
“So, that’s how we met. She’s very rich. And I said, ‘Listen, Susan, I don’t need your money. I’m also rich. You don’t need my money. But if you die before me, you could leave me a little.”
Player laughed as he recounted the story and bragged that they had teamed to win the pro-am at the PNC on Friday before turning philosophical: “How do you live without love? If you got love in your life, it makes you happy.”
World Traveler
Player, who claims to have traveled more miles than any man, said he’s been as busy as ever, visiting five countries in five weeks, including Hong Kong, South Africa and the U.S. But doing so is much easier these days than when it used to take him more than 24 hours and multiple stops to get from South Africa to the States.
“Had I lived in America, I would have won another three majors, at least, having to go back and forth, 40 hours there and back,” he said.
But Player still follows a strict workout regimen and watches his diet and he’ll turn 90 in 2025.
“Most people are dead at my age,” he said. “You know, really think about what the odds are living to my age. Not much in your favor.”
Player’s secret to longevity? Eating only two meals a day. “Undereat is the secret for longevity. Exercise, sleep. Well, laugh a lot. I laugh all the time. Read a lot. Keep the mind sharp. Read, learn to speak, build your vocabulary. Have friends, have friends. So I do 10 things.”
Player proceeded to pull from his wallet his list, which can be seen here.
Trump and Yasir
Player, who represents Golf Saudi, shared some strong opinions on the current state of the professional game. He questioned whether a victory still registered as the achievement it used to be in his day.
“When Palmer, Nicklaus and I won a tournament, we won a tournament. Now they win half a tournament,” said Player, referring to the split in men’s golf into the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. “We played against the best of the world. Those good guys are there. These good guys are here. So you’re not winning a tournament; you’re winning half a tournament.”
He continued. “You can’t have confrontation, and that’s what’s happening,” he said. “Somehow they’ve got to get together. And I think, my personal opinion, all the guys that have tried — Jimmy Dunne is a marvelous guy and he resigned. It’s tough — there’s only two people in the world that can get us together, Donald Trump and Yasir.”
Why does Player declare that the president-elect and the leader of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, are the two individuals who could bring golf back together? “It’s because they both know each other and they work together. Donald Trump and Yasir, he controls (LIV). And Donald Trump loves golf, and those two get together and sort out stuff.”
Ball go (too) far
It’s not uncommon for Player to broach the subject of the golf ball and he went on a lengthy rant on the topic.
“When I said one day they’ll hit the ball 400 yards, I said it on British TV, Peter Allis said to me, ‘Gary, you’re talking hogwash.’ Then I said, ‘One day there’ll be a man who’ll win a major on this Tour at 50.’ Now this is what I’m telling you now, in 30 years time, many players will be hitting the ball 500 yards…You just got to look what’s happening. We’ve never had a big man play golf yet. When a LeBron James or a Michael Jordan, one of these guys that come out like this, and the way the ball is going, it’s illegal.”
So, you’re not in favor of the USGA and R&A’s plan to roll back the ball in the coming years, Player was asked.
“It’s peanuts. It’s a waste of time, it’s an absolute waste of time,” he said. “You’ve got to cut it back at least 60 yards, at least… We haven’t seen anything. It’s not called golf anymore. When golf originated, there was a par five. There’s no such thing as a par five, that’s out. And let me tell you, they’ll be driving five, six par fours in time. So where are we going? Where are we going?”
One last round?
Player cracked that he was only hoping to make age 90 next year but now that he’s discovered love again, he’d like to live to 100. Where would he like to play one final round when that time comes? He didn’t have to think long. “Pine Valley,” he answered, noting that he’s been a member there for the last 10 years. “Pine Valley is No. 1 one in America year after year for a reason, and I’m a member there now. I mean, I tell you something, I go there. It’s something to think that used to be the ocean, then a forest and now this golf course. I mean, it’s unique.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Gary Player dishes on his new girlfriend, Donald Trump & the golf ball
