Player’s fitting tribute to Papwa

I had the rare honour of watching Gary Player behaving like a teenager this week, writes Lungani Zama in The Sunday Itch. Picture:Jim Young

I had the rare honour of watching Gary Player behaving like a teenager this week, writes Lungani Zama in The Sunday Itch. Picture:Jim Young

Published Aug 30, 2015

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It’s unusual see genuine greats gush over another man’s achievements, but I had the rare honour of watching Gary Player behaving like a teenager this week.

The Black Knight had just played at Beachwood, Durban Country Club’s second course, reeling off three birdies in his last five holes, to shoot one-under. Just another day at the office…

Sipping on his ginger beer, South Africa’s greatest golfer looked up at the TV screen as Usain Bolt limbered up for the 200m men’s final at the World Championships.

“This guy… wow! He’s just unbelievable! What a showman!”

It was refreshing to see the youngest 80-year-old losing his inhibitions and admiring the exceptional talent of another athlete.

That’s the sheer magnetism of what Usain Bolt does, what he represents. He shatters boundaries, stereotypes and the form book. And the bigger the stage, the better he seems to become.

Having lived in the spotlight all his life, Player can probably appreciate the ability to dazzle more than most.

It is also why Player is sad that the demise of Tiger Woods has been so sudden and so extensive.

As Player explains it, Woods is still the biggest draw in the game, even as his powers desert him under the microscope.

Fifty thousand extra tickets were sold for the Wyndham Championship as soon as Woods was confirmed as an entry.

But Player wasn’t in town just to shoot the breeze and outdrive men half his age.

He was in town to salute another golfing superstar who was at the peak of his powers in the 1960s.

The difference between Player and Papwa Sewgolum was that the doors that opened for Player to enter the golfing world and carve out his remarkable story were bolted shut for Papwa.

Player admitted as much as keynote speaker at the launch of Papwa, In The Grip of a Champion by Maxine Case.

“I lost my mother (when I was) 8, my father worked in the mines, and I had a three-hour round trip to school every day before coming back to make my own supper,” Player said.

“But even though I went through all that, it was nothing compared with what Papwa had to endure.”

It was a sad reality, and one that will hopefully come about again.

The story of Papwa is not nearly well known as it ought to be.

Most people wonder why Durban’s “other” city course is called Papwa, but the book and the film that are being made will spread the gospel about the caddie-turned-champion.

It’s one of golf’s great traits that, irrespective of class, colour or upbringing, the only conflict is between a man and the ball.

Sure, there are challenges, like the weather, and opponents, and internal fears, but they have only as much influence as you allow them to.

When you stand over a stroke, it is just you and the ball.

Player and Papwa might have shared a course on only a few occasions, but their shared adversity meant they had more in common than most, even as they were reminded of their differences all too often.

It is fitting, then, that Player was on hand to pay his respects. And, as the timeless titan noted, Papwa is on high, smiling down as his grip, deemed peculiar in his day, is adopted by more and more of the world’s best players.

If it’s good enough for Jordan Spieth to putt with, then it can’t be half bad.

That’s the beauty of sport. Even after the greats pass on, their legend grows with time, their legacy there for all to see, for ever.

Incongruous as it might have seemed in their heyday, Player and Papwa were actually brothers-in-arms.

What a tenacious match-play pair they would have made…

– The Sunday Independent

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