Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus shared an amicable rivalry throughout their time in the game.
Player won 159 professional tournaments worldwide, including nine major championships.
Meanwhile, Nicklaus notched up 73 PGA Tour victories, with a record 18 major championships to his name.
Gary Player has huge respect for Jack Nicklaus and that feeling is very much mutual.
Player and Nicklaus have remained close friends since they stopped playing competitively.
However, they desperately wanted to beat each other during their playing days.
Gary Player shares one thing the US media won’t tell you about Jack Nicklaus
Player came over to the United States in the late 1950s and he was always the underdog when he came up against Arnold Palmer and Nicklaus.
The 90-year-old always felt as though he had to work much harder than the American duo in order to fulfil his dreams.
He was smaller in stature, but had the heart of a lion.
Player spoke on the High Performance Podcast about his time in the professional game and he shared his belief that he doesn’t get the credit that he deserves.
“Being poor. And I mean being poor as a junkyard dog. I never played for money, I wanted to win. I wanted to be the best. It was a gift from God,“ the South African said.
“People who don’t believe in God think that is crazy but I was not that good to achieve what I achieved. I was the only man to win the Grand Slam on both Tours. I won the most tournaments in the world today. I won more international titles than Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus together.
“I was not that good. This was a gift that was loaned to me. I put emphasis on the word loaned. A lot of people find that hard to understand but that is what I believed and what I used to become a champion. What you have to do to become a champion is not your swing, it’s your mind. You have got to believe you are the best.
“I played Nicklaus and beat him as many times as he beat me. They won’t say that in America because they can’t. He was an icon. I understand that, 100%.
“But when I played him he knew I believed I could beat him. I played him in the world matchplay championship in London. 36 holes on a wet golf course and I beat him 6&4, 5&4.
Gary Player labels Jack Nicklaus as the ‘greatest gentleman’
Player highlighted how Nicklaus deserved everything he achieved in the game when speaking on the High Performance Podcast.
“Nicklaus was the greatest gentleman I ever played golf with. His record is the best record in golf, nobody can deny that. And you judge players not on what they could have done. The worst word in sports is if.
“If I was born in America I would have probably won another four major championships, because I was going to South Africa and back to be with my family and those days it took 40 hours to get there.
“Nicklaus’ parents weren’t what I would say wealthy but they were well to do and he went to a great university in Ohio. And he had a life, in terms of reality, a luxurious one and he had the best record.
“That’s contradictory, isn’t it? I think it’s horses for courses.“
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