This image is the cover for the book Gary Player, Sports

Gary Player, Sports

Gary Player's golf career will come full circle in April 2012 when he joins Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus as honorary starters at the Masters Tournament. Player rose from humble beginnings in South Africa to become an international golf superstar, and his success at Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters is the highlight of his impressive resume. His accomplishments include three Masters wins, the record for most starts at the Masters and numerous other distinctions. Player's career includes 167 worldwide wins, which includes all the Grand Slam titles on the regular tour and the senior tour. At age 76 you might think Player is ready to slow down, but in fact he is still a relevant and influential figure. His brand is thriving with business deals around the globe, and the tireless effort he put in long ago to make the game truly international is paying off as foreign-born players have dominated the majors in recent years. This book will highlight and celebrate Player's remarkable career with a special emphasis on his time in Augusta, and it also will tell how Player is an inspiration not only to his fellow South Africans but to golfers all around the globe

John Boyette

John Boyette is sports editor of the Augusta Chronicle. He has covered twenty-four Masters Tournaments and has directed the newspaper's award-winning coverage since 2001. His first trip to the Masters came in 1974, and the winner that year was South Africa's Gary Player. While in college, Boyette worked on the leader boards during the Masters and was assigned to cover the tournament in 1986. He followed Jack Nicklaus throughout the final round that year and witnessed firsthand the Golden Bear's sixth and final Masters victory. That Masters inspired Boyette's first book, The 1986 Masters: How Jack Nicklaus Roared Back to Win, which was published in 2011. Boyette lives in Aiken, South Carolina, with his wife, Kathy.

The History Press