It was on the first tee at the Masters in April that it really hit Gary Player.
"I started thinking, most of my friends are dead, and the average age for an athlete to retire is 28," he said. "And here I am, at 73, getting ready to play in the Masters."
It was his 52nd Masters -- a record for appearances at Augusta -- and he said it would be his last, but the South African has no plans to quit competing.
The legend rolls on this week at The Champions Tour's Boeing Classic at the TPC at Snoqualmie Ridge near Seattle.
"Do you feel guilty living in a place like this?" he asked. "My, it is beautiful. I am an environmentalist and I just love this part of the country. The fans have been great, and it's a very nice course. I am really looking forward to playing."
Player won't be on the list of favorites to win this week, but don't be surprised to see him draw the largest galleries.
Player is the last of the greats from two generations ago still playing. He has outlasted Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, the other two members of the Big Three. In Player's heyday, the money was much less but there was much more interaction between players and fans. They were entertainers, and that extended beyond their golf shots.
It's an easy role for the energetic, amiable and chatty Player. During the first round of the first Boeing Classic in 2005, a father was watching with his young son, explaining to the boy who he was seeing, mentioning Player's wins in the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship.
"He hit that a long way," the boy said after Player's drive. Player went outside the rope to talk to the boy.
"Don't worry about your driving, spend time working on your short game," he told the boy in an impromptu lesson. "That's how you improve your scores."
That's Gary Player. The fans don't just watch; they become a part of his round.
And when he finishes, Player does more than just sign autographs. He talks with people, and he seems to enjoy it.
"Gratitude and compassion are so important," said Player, whose foundation helps impoverished children. "I am extremely grateful. It's really important to give love. If you give love, it will come back to you tenfold, but you have to give it to receive it."
That is also Gary Player. There is always another lesson to give, often on the importance of nutrition or exercise. Eat less and exercise more, advises the man who says he is "80 percent vegetarian."
But on this day, his concern is the United States and how it's falling behind other countries in education.
"America has been the great Samaritan for so long," he said. "It never gets the credit for that, but it's true. And it's time that America should start looking out more for itself. It should be No. 1 in education."
When it comes to No. 1, it is said that no athlete in history has traveled more miles than Player. He is often referred to as the international ambassador of golf and has designed courses on five continents.
Since mid-July, he has gone from South Africa to London to Scotland to Poland to Austria to the Czech Republic to Mexico to Chicago to Florida and finally to the Northwest.
All the while, Player remains more than respectable on the course.
"I try to break my age (shooting better than a 73) and if I do that, then I am scoring pretty well," he said. "If I can continue to do that, and I'm really into fitness and nutrition, I think I could keep playing (on the Champions Tour) for some time," he said.
Perhaps a more important goal was breaking 80 at the Masters this past spring. The course has gotten so long that it seemed a long shot. But he fired a 78 in the opening round.
The following day on the 18th hole, the gallery thanked him appropriately for his 52 years.
"That ovation went on and on and on," Player said. "I have never seen anything like that. I have to tell you, there were tears in my eyes. That was really special."
It's the type of response he'll surely get this week at Snoqualmie.
(Contact Scott Hanson at shanson(ay)seattletimes.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com)
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