Gary Player on his new girlfriend, Donald Trump and the golf ball that goes too far

ORLANDO – Gary Player made a birdie putt at 18^th hole Saturday and kicked his right leg in the air to celebrate.

“Better late than never,” he said of what was a rare birdie for him and his grandson, Alexander Hall, 16, in posting a score of 72 in the first round of 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, to find love again with New York native Susan Waterfall and his new girlfriend after Player’s wife Vivienne, 64, died in 2021. “She’s 83, oh, she’s young,” the player said. “But isn’t it amazing that at 89 you can find a girlfriend. She loves everything I love: golf, fishing, gym, working, reading, opera.

Player said mutual friends had been trying to introduce him to Waterfall for some time, but it wasn’t planned until a few months ago, when Player agreed to become an honorary member of Miami’s Shell Bay Club. The player joked that he asked the club owner how much membership cost. When told the fee was $1.3 million, Player responded, “I’d rather have that money.” »

But he attended an event at the club as a courtesy, where he eventually met Waterfall.

“I put my arm around her and said, ‘I love this country, America, so much. I must have an American girlfriend,” Player said. “She blushed, didn’t say anything. So I said, “Will you come and have dinner with me?” She’s coming to dinner. »

Two days later, he telephoned her and invited her to join him at Gleneagles in Scotland, where they were going fishing.

“She catches a 10-pound salmon. What am I catching? A frog! So they put it in the hotel: Susan Waterfall, catch of the day. Breast of the day, Gary Player.

“That’s how we met. She’s very rich. And I said, ‘Look, Susan, I don’t need your money. I’m rich too. You don’t need my money. But if you die before me, you might leave me for a bit.”

The player laughed as he told the story and bragged about teaming up to win the pro-am at PNC on Friday before getting philosophical: “How do you live without love? If you have love in your life, it makes you happy.”

World traveler

Player, who claims to have logged more miles than anyone else, said he was busier than ever, visiting five countries in five weeks, including Hong Kong, South Africa and the United States. But doing it is much easier these days than before. take it over 24 hours and several stops to get from South Africa to the United States.

“If I had lived in America, I would have won at least three more major tournaments, traveling back and forth, 40 hours there and back,” he said.

But Player still follows a strict workout schedule and watches his diet and he will be 90 years old in 2025.

“At my age, most people are dead,” he says. “You know, really think about the chances of living at my age. Not much in your favor.

The player’s secret to longevity? Eat only two meals a day. “A lack of food is the secret to longevity. Exercise, sleep. Well, laugh a lot. I laugh all the time. Read a lot. Keep your mind sharp. Read, learn to speak, expand your vocabulary . Have friends, have friends So I do 10 things.

The player then took his list out of his wallet, which can be seen here.

Trump and Yasir

Player, who represents Golf Saudi, shared strong opinions on the current state of the professional game. He wondered if a victory was still considered an achievement like it was in his day.

“When Palmer, Nicklaus and I won a tournament, we won a tournament. Now they win half a tournament,” Player said, referring to the split in men’s golf between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf . “We played against the best in the world. These good ones are there. These good ones are here. So you don’t win a tournament, you win half a tournament.”

He continued. “You can’t have a confrontation, and that’s what’s happening,” he said. “Somehow they have to come together. And I think, my personal opinion, that all the guys who tried – Jimmy Dunne is a wonderful guy and he quit. It’s difficult: there are only two people in the world who can bring us together, Donald Trump and Yasir.”

Why does Player say that the president-elect and head of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, are the two individuals who could bring golf together? “It’s because they both know each other and work together. Donald Trump and Yasir, he controls (LIV). And Donald Trump loves golf, and these two get together and work things out.

The ball goes (too) far

It’s not uncommon for Player to bring up the subject of the golf ball and he launches into a long speech on the subject.

“When I said one day they would hit the ball 400 yards, I said it on British television, Peter Allis said to me: ‘Gary, you’re talking rubbish.’ Then I said: “One day there will be a man who will win a major tournament on this Tour at 50 years old. Now, this is what I am telling you now, in 30 years, many players will be hitting the ball.” 500 yards… Just look at what’s happening. We’ve never seen a big man play golf before. When a LeBron James or a Michael Jordan, one of those guys coming out like that, and the way. where the ball is going, it’s illegal.”

So you’re not in favor of the USGA and R&A’s plan to move the ball back 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. “We have to reduce it by at least 60 meters, at least… We haven’t seen anything. It’s no longer called golf. At the origin of golf, there was a par five. There is no no par five.” , it’s over. And let me tell you, they’ll drive five, six by fours in time. So where are we going?

One last round?

The player explained that he only hoped to be 90 next year, but now that he has discovered love, he would like to live to be 100. Where would he like to play one last trick when that time comes? He didn’t need to think long. “Pine Valley,” he replied, noting that he had been a member for 10 years. “Pine Valley is number one in America year after year for a reason, and I’m a member now. I mean, I tell you something, I go there. It’s something to think that it 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 Talks His New Girlfriend, Donald Trump and the Golf Ball