The Man in Black declared Monday at Augusta, Ga., “I’m exercising profusely, but it’s very difficult at 73 to build strength.”
It was Gary Player’s way of saying this will be his final Masters.
In 1957, Player played in his first Masters.
Three green jackets later, the South African is giving up his lifetime invitation, given to past champions.
“The golf course is so long. I mean, I’m hitting a wood to almost every single hole,” he told the media Monday.
He knows it’s not only the course’s length, expanded to 7,435 yards, but his game.
“I’m hitting the ball so short now, I can hear it land,” Player said, laughing.
Player hasn’t made the cut since 1998, when at age 62 he became the oldest player to reach the weekend at Augusta (a record eclipsed two years later by 63-year-old Tommy Aaron).
“I’ve managed to break 80 the last two years,” Player said. “It’s getting to a stage now where I don’t know whether I can do that out here.”
He set the mark for most Masters appearances, snapping a tie with Arnold Palmer by playing in his 51st last year. No. 52 will be his last.
Player won the tournament in 1961, 1974 and 1978.
Post wire services
