One never really knows when tragedy strikes them! And once it does, it turns around your entire life. Gary Player was a happy man. He found his childhood sweetheart when he was living in a neighborhood in South Africa. He said, “A friendly couple from England moved into the house next door with a high garden fence. I found a stone I could stand on to look over their lawn. On one occasion my brother was with me, and he said that a charming little girl was coming to visit the English family next door.”

He was 13 years old back then, and he could not take his eyes off her. He had claimed to marry that girl when he got older, and well, he did indeed fulfill his dream. He married his wife, Vivienne Verwey, on 19 January 1957, four years after turning professional. The couple led a really happy life for over six decades. They had six children, 22 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren together. However, things changed completely for the loving couple in June 2020.

Vivienne Verwey was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This shattered Player’s life. After battling for a year, she left for her heavenly abode on August 18, 2021. Player shared the news with the world He had lost the person who meant the world to him.

“Vivienne taught me the value of love, faith, and trust. She taught our children those same values, and they were blessed to have a mother who lived those values every single day. When we first met, I had no doubt it was love at first sight, and it turned out to be a love story of a lifetime. I believe it will also be so when we are finally together again. Until then, I will miss my Viv dearly,” he wrote in the post.

Gary Player did indeed dedicate a lot of his life to his wife. In fact, for him, it was her support that took him through the difficult waves. But after almost three years of trying to let the sadness sink in, it looks like the 89-year-old has finally decided to move on, but he will forever keep her in his memories, that’s for sure.

Gary Player meets his ‘life-changing’ new love

Gary Player was, of course, left depressed after his wife passed away. And well, his friends did not like that. They wanted to set him up with a native from New York, Susan Waterfall. They had been trying for months because they knew the couple would hit it off since they had a lot of things in common. She loved golf, gym, opera, reading, and eating the right food. These are all the things that the golfer also loves. Finally, after much persistence, they met a few months ago when he was made the honorary member of the Shell Bay Club in Miami.

It was at the presser of the ongoing 2024 PNC Championship that he finally shared how life was with her. “It’s wonderful. Boy, it’s changed my life,” Player told reporters ahead of this weekend’s PNC Championship. “You’ve got to have love in your life. We’re all searching for it,” he said.

He also shared how when he met her, he thought she was wonderful. He added, “So I said to her, ‘I’m looking for an American girlfriend.’ She didn’t answer me. But two days later she came back to me and said, ‘I’d like to be your American girlfriend.'” He calls her Susan Tsunami because of her strong personality. This new relationship has given him an entirely new perspective on life.