Something the Aussies are not best at

First an e-mail drops with an enquiry from a South African living in Perth and then Gary Player, out of the blue as it were, refers to it as well. Next a friend calls and asks me whether I know the answer.

Never fails to fascinate me that… how these themes crop up and suddenly it becomes important to know.

Know what? Well whether South African golfers have won more majors than Australians?

Why is it important? Well it has it roots in rugby. Certainly for Gary Player it did.

Chatting to him shortly before he played the now completed backnine of his Blue Valley course (formerly Samrand) in Midrand, Gary enquired whether the Springboks were back on track after their victory against the Wallabies and how they would do overseas.

Like all South Africans Gary cares about the Boks and, when he is overseas, searches for channels to watch them play. After the World Cup in 1995 he arranged for a video tape to be couriered to him and went to great lengths to avoid being told the score.

But Gary has another reason. Two in fact. Graham Marsh and Bob Charles, Australian and New Zealand compatriots on the seniors tour who make him pay, literally and figuratively, when the Springboks lose. Ernie Els as the same problem with Robert Allenby and Frank Nobilo.

Thus Gary was hoping that if the Boks were on the up he would be in a position to do some collecting… and that’s when he mentioned it: “Wasn’t Retief Goosen’s win in the US Open fantastic? That’s one thing we’ve got over the Aussies. We’ve got more majors than they have,” said the Little Maestro whose record includes nine of them, plus, five Australian Opens.

And we have. The score is 16-12 and if we were to add in Nick Price, who grew up in Zimbabwe but was born in Durban, it would be 19-12.

The record appears below.

South Africa: British Open:

4 – Bobby Locke (1949 at Royal St George’s, 1950 at Troon, 1952 at Royal Lytham & St Annes, 1957 at St Andrews).

3 – Gary Player (1959 at Muirfield, 1968 at Carnoustie, 1974 at Royal Lytham & St Annes).

United States Open:

1 – Gary Player (1965 at Bellerive).

2 – Ernie Els (1994 at Oakmont, 1997 at Congressional).

1 – Retief Goosen (2001 at Southern Hills).

US Masters:

3 – Gary Player (1961, 1974, 1978).

US PGA:

2 – Gary Player (1962 at Aronimink, 1972 at Oakland Hills).

TOTAL = 16

Australia:

British Open:

5 – Peter Thomson (1954 at Royal Birkdale, 1955 at St Andrews, 1956 at Royal Liverpool (Hoylake), 1958 at Royal Lytham and St Annes, 1965 at Royal Birkdale).

1 – Kel Nagle (1960 at St Andrews).

2 – Greg Norman (1986 at Turnberry, 1993 at Royal St George’s).

1 – Ian Baker-Finch (1991 at Royal Birkdale).

United States Open:

1 – David Graham (1981 at Merion).

US Masters:

None.

US PGA:

1 – David Graham (1979 at Oakland Hills).

1 – Wayne Grady (1990 at Shoal Creek).

TOTAL = 12