A host of tributes have been paid to Vivienne Player, wife of nine-time major winner Gary Player, who passed away last Wednesday following a lengthy illness.
Tom Watson, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Karrie Webb, Louis Oosthuizen, Sir Nick Faldo, Trevor Immelman and Thomas Bjørn were just a few of the top players who sent public messages of condolence to Player. The 85-year-old published his own moving eulogy for a woman he once described as his “rock,” to whom he had been married for 64 years. The couple had six children together, 22 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren and had met when they were both in their early teens.
“I cannot describe the deep sense of sadness I feel having lost the one person who has always meant the world to me,” Player said in his statement. “She fully supported my career and raised our six children almost single handedly while I was touring the world playing golf. She was a devoted wife, a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and a wonderful human being who cared so deeply for others and lived her life in service to others.”
Vivienne Player came from a golfing family. Her father, Jock Verwey, was a South African PGA champion while her brother, Bobby, won multiple tournaments around the world including the 1962 German Open, the 1965 Almaden Open Invitational on the PGA Tour and the 1991 Senior British Open. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in June of last year.
A former USGA staff member has been charged with stealing thousands of U.S. Open tickets and selling them to two Pennsylvania ticket resale companies.
Prosecutors alleged that between 2013 and 2019, Robert Fryer, the former assistant director in the USGA’s ticketing office, pilfered 23,000 tickets, with a face value of $3.4 million, and passed them on to the companies. They allegedly paid Fryer $1.15 million for the tickets and sold them for a combined profit of $1.7 million.
USGA officials indicated last week they learned of the alleged theft when contacted by federal authorities several months ago. They said they have acted since to introduce a new ticketing platform and have hired an outside auditor to help to prevent any such future thefts.
“The USGA was both appreciative and fully supportive of the efforts of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office (for) the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in this investigation,” spokesperson Beth Major said in a statement.
Fryer, 39, faces charges of conspiracy as well as wire and mail fraud. If convicted of the most serious charge, he could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
Following in the footsteps of countryman Takumi Kanaya, Japan’s Keita Nakajima captured the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the top-ranked men’s amateur in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
The 21-year-old will receive exemptions into next year’s Open Championship at St. Andrews and the U.S. Open at the Country Club.
Although Nakajima won the Japan Amateur earlier this summer, his rise to No. 1 mostly was due to performances in Japan Golf Tour pro events. He finished runner-up in the 2021 Token Homemate Cup, third in last year’s Mitsui Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters and eighth in last year’s Dunlap Phoenix.
Top-20 finishes in the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup and Japan Open Championship bolstered Nakajima’s résumé.
“I am so excited and happy to have won the 2021 Mark H. McCormack Medal,” he said in a statement. “Heading into university, my goal was to be the number one player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. I want to give many thanks for the support of my family, university, national team coaches and teammates. Without them, I could not have achieved this. I am also very proud and honoured to be awarded the medal following Takumi Kanaya.
“My next goal is to demonstrate my abilities on the world stage with confidence and hopefully follow in the footsteps of my fellow Japanese players including Hideki Matsuyama, Nasa Hataoka, Takumi Kanaya and Yuka Saso.”
The World Amateur Golf Ranking was established in 2007 and encompasses nearly 2,900 events. There are 7,309 players ranked, hailing from 117 countries.
Following his victory at the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship two weekends ago, Kevin Kisner moved to No. 34 in the Official World Golf Ranking, matching his best ranking since February. Entering play last weekend at the Northern Trust, Kisner had risen 18 spots from No. 52.
Kisner’s career-high ranking is No. 14, which came in January 2016, shortly after his first PGA Tour victory at the RSM Classic the previous November.
Also last week, Callum Hill broke into the world’s top 100 for the first time when he won the recent Cazoo Classic at London Golf Club.
TAP-INS
With a T7 finish at the AIG Women’s Open, Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand clinches the 2021 Annika Major Award, which salutes the player with the top record in the year’s five major championships on the women’s golf schedule. ... RBC and Golf Canada announces the RBC Community Junior Golf Program, initiated to enable affordable access to the game for youth in underrepresented communities, with PGA Tour professional Harold Varner III serving as an ambassador (READ MORE). … Jaxon Brigman, a member of Oklahoma State’s national championship team in 1991 and a player who missed out on a PGA Tour card 1999 after signing for an incorrect score at Q-School, dies Aug. 14 at age 50 (READ MORE). … Paul Calabrase, a sales executive for range-finder manufacturer SkyGolf, dies Aug. 16 at age 50 after a short battle with COVID-19 (INFORMATION).
Staff and Wire Reports