Gary Player to play 52nd and final Masters

AUGUSTA, Georgia (AFP) — Nine-time major champion Gary Player will play his final Masters this week, the 73-year-old South African legend announcing Monday he will call it quits after his 52nd Augusta National start.
"I've decided I would like to make this my last appearance in the tournament," Player said. "This will be my last major championship that I will play on the regular tour."
Stretching the famed Augusta National layout to 7,435 yards over the past few years has proven too much for even the fitness-focused Player.
"I'm exercising profusely, but at 73 it's difficult to build strength," he said. "The course is so long there are very few holes I can hit an iron to. It's just too long for me."
Player won the Masters in 1961, 1974 and 1978 and he is one of only five men to capture a career Grand Slam, joining an elite group that also includes Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen and Tiger Woods, who did it at age 24.
"I think that's the greatest feat that has ever been accomplished in world sport - to win the Grand Slam at 24," Player said.
Player's other major titles include the British Open in 1959, 1968 and 1974, the 1965 US Open and 1962 and 1972 PGA Championship.
South African Ernie Els, who followed in his countryman's globetrotting footsteps, told Player that his best round at Augusta was not one to win a title but his 77 from round two in 2007 due to his age and the tougher course.
"I've managed to break 80 the last two years. It's getting to a stage where I don't know if I can do that any more," Player said. "I'm getting old and it's getting so much tougher."
Player joked that "I'm hitting the ball so short now I can hear it land" and "the hole is getting the size of a Bayer aspirin. You wonder if you can squeeze it in there."
Having become the first golf star to dedicate himself to playing tournaments around the world, Player will break his own record for the most Masters starts with number 52 on Thursday but says he expects his mark will one day fall.
"It will be broken," Player said. "We're in our infancy when it comes to the art of the mind and the body. We haven't had the big men playing golf yet. They are coming... You will find bionic men coming out in times to come."
Player said his greatest Masters memory was his rally to win in 1978, when he birdied seven of the last 10 holes to fire a 64 and recover from seven strokes off the pace to win.
His worst memory came in 1962 when he told his caddie, "We've won," only to watch Arnold Palmer sink a long putt and overtake him for the triumph.
"I've had it all. You can't be greedy," Player said. "I'm very grateful. I realize my talent is on loan.
"I prefer ranching to golf. I'm still going to come to this tournament. I'm not getting out of golf. But there comes a time. You will not see me come back and play."
Player, who cited his nine over-50 majors as a superior feat to his nine regular ones simply because of the shorter time frame in which to win them, sees his legacy in the faces of players from around the world who now find success in majors.
"It's possible my wins energized the international players to feel like they could win," Player said. "You will see a lot more players coming from China and India, where golf is booming."