Gary Player completed the career Grand Slam by winning the 1965 U.S. Open. The South African defeated Australia’s Kel Nagle in an 18-hole playoff at Bellerive Country Club.
Player and Nagle finished the 72 holes tied at 282, two over par. Player had led by three strokes with three holes remaining, but a double bogey on the 16th and Nagle’s birdie at the 17th erased the advantage. Player then won the playoff 71 to 74.
The victory completed Player’s collection of all four professional major championships: the Masters, U.S. Open, The Open Championship and PGA Championship. He became only the third golfer to achieve the career Grand Slam, following Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan.
Player was 29 years old and won his only U.S. Open title. The 1965 championship was also historically important because Player became the first foreign-born U.S. Open winner since 1927. His compact, globe-trotting style later earned him the nickname “the Black Knight.”