HE is known as the Black Knight, Mr Fitness and the International Ambassador of Golf to those familiar with the sport he loves.
He has the right to count himself amongst the greats with NINE major wins – and he returned to the scene of one of his most significant triumphs this week.
Muirfield in Gullane has hosted The Open Championship 16 times since 1892 and is described by the R&A as “the fairest test of all” the courses on the tournament rota.
Laid out in 1891 and home to the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, Muirfield was unique for a links course in its time due to its unusual layout.
Back then it was standard for links courses to have nine holes heading out towards the sea they ran alongside, and another nine that headed back inland.
But Muirfield was designed in two loops of nine, one going clockwise and another going anti-clockwise.
This quirk meant, assuming that the wind direction remained the same throughout a round, that a golfer would face virtually a different wind direction on every single hole.
That provided a stern challenge and from its early days hosting The Open, the roll call of winners reads like a who’s-who of golfing heraldry.
Harry Vardon, James Braid, Walter Hagen and Sir Henry Cotton all lifted the Claret Jug at Muirfield.
Then in 1959, along came a 24-year-old South African who was small in stature but big in ambition.
That man was Gary Player, who achieved the first of his three Open victories at the East Lothian venue.
Indeed, it was also the scene of his major breakthrough, paving the way for a further eight top titles (three Masters, two PGA Championships and one US Open).
Now 88 and with Royal Troon ready to host The Open in two weeks’ time, the South African legend was back in Scotland to play a round at one of his favourite places.
He posed for photos with other golfers who were in for a surprise when they turned up for their own rounds.
Player has previously said of The Open: “The Open is undoubtedly golf’s hallmark event as it brings the players back to where it all began.
“I always loved competing at The Open because the course can play entirely different from one day to the next and as a result it truly tests every aspect of your game.”
These days, Player is known for his crazy fitness routine which involves him doing 100 sit-ups each day and regularly taking ice baths.
Player has previously been spotted with ex-Rangers chairman Dave King, whose business interests are in South Africa.
The pair were seen at Wimbledon two years ago and the former Ibrox chief once caddied for Player at St Andrews.
In the years following Player’s success at Muirfield the list of winners only becomes more impressive, proving that the course stays true to its “fair test” description with the world’s best often coming out on top when The Open is staged there.
Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo (twice), Ernie Els and most recently Phil Mickelson all finished cream of the crop at Muirfield.
Nicklaus himself dubbed the course “the best in Britain” and when he established his own golf community and club in Ohio, he named it after the famous Scots venue, giving birth to Muirfield Village (which now hosts the prestigious Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour).
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Muirfield was the scene of another historic first for The Open Championship.
When it hosted its first Open in 1892, it became the first time the tournament was held over four rounds, which is now the norm.
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