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When he first made the epic jaunt down hallowed Magnolia Lane, Gary Player was a fresh-faced 21-year-old from South Africa, still searching for his first career victory on U.S. soil. He finished in a share of 24th place that week, 14 strokes behind winner Doug Ford; respectable, sure — hey, he did earn a whopping $700 paycheck — but hardly anything of historical proportions.
No, the history part came later. Like in 1961, when he won his first Masters title; and in 1974, when he won another; and in 1978, when he won for a third time. And the history comes next week, too, when Player makes that trip down Magnolia Lane for a record 51st year.
His streak is older than Fred Couples. It predates the term “Amen Corner.” Hell, it’s been around longer than Barbie, hula hoops and audio cassettes.
To what does he owe such longevity? For a guy who boasts he can still do one-handed push-ups at age 72, it’s no secret.
“It’s a thrill playing there for my 51st occasion,” Player said before last week’s Ginn Championship on the Champions Tour. “The reason that I’m so thrilled about it, because I’ve exercised diligently, profusely, for 64 years. And that’s not easy; very few people go through their lives exercising for 64 years. So it’s helped me to have longevity. Growing up and coming along in my career a lot of people ridiculed and thought I was a nut lifting weights and exercising and dieting the way I do. Now I’m sure there are many of them that wish they had done it.”
There are those who wish they had played like the Black Knight, too. His three Masters victories are each memorable for their own reasons: “I’ve always said the thing about second [is] only your wife and your dog know about it,” he said, adding, “that’s if you’ve got a good wife and a good dog.” The wins represent a large part of the success for a player who won nine career majors and is one of only five to have earned the career Grand Slam.

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To come up with some Masters favourites for this weekend s Golf Challenge I thought an examination using the G.I.R. (greens in regulation) stat might be helpful. After all it isn t how you get there that is important but just that you get there as soon as possible. Some do it through long drives, others with driving accuracy, and still others with that rather nebulous statistic: scrambling.
First lets look at the course. For those of you who are fans of golf you know the Augusta course better than some of the pros. For those who don t here is a brief synopsis: brutal.
It is long (almost 7500 yards), the rough is very, and the greens are lightning. Posting a red (below par) number is often a top 10 finish.
It has been raining this week in Augusta so the course will be playing every inch of its 7500 yards, advantage long ball hitters. It should also give a slight advantage to early morning play as the greens will hold the ball better.
Greens in Regulation (Top 10 Entrants to this years Masters)
1. Tiger Woods: No.1 in GIR, No.2 in Scrambling. Well down the pack in driving distance probably because he just won t take the big stick out of the bag as often as the others. Despite this his driving accuracy is only average at 55%. It really doesn t matter though because the amazing Tiger is $60 a share over-priced. Only a short with Tiger imploding and missing the cut will give you any kind of a return. Rating: Short him or Pass.
2. K.J. Choi: Only other top 5 stat is money earned. He is a gamer and everyone is waiting for him to put it all together and win a big one. At $307 per share still has some upside and even a poor showing shouldn t hurt his price overmuch. Rating: Moderate Buy.

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