Gary Player sets nephew to play partner in tense 18-hole qualifier

If you are Tiger Woodschoosing a partner for PNC Championship it’s a no-brainer. Because one of your two kids doesn’t play golf, you go with the other, who plays well. Easy, easy. Charlie is.

For another legend on the field this week, the selection process is more complex.

in 89, Gary Player has six children, 22 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and there is no golfer in the group.

“That’s a lot of choices,” Player told GOLF.com.

What’s a patriarch to do?

Between 2001 and 2006, when his family tree was smaller and the tournament was known as the Office Depot Father/Son Challenge, the player did it with his son, Wayne. But as time went on and the clan expanded, the nine-time major winner found it harder to settle on a teammate. Furthermore, because he is competitive to the bone, he wanted to ensure that he chose the family member in the best shape.

His solution: organize a competition for the country.

Four years ago, the South African star set up what he calls – depending on his wit – the Nephews Challenge, the Cousins ​​Qualifier or the Choker’s Cup. By any name, the format and stakes are the same: 18 holes of stroke play; winner must connect him with family members at PNC.

In this year’s qualifier, held just before Thanksgiving at the Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Fla., four of Player’s grandchildren passed him, and the youngest of the bunch, 17-year-old Alex Hall, took the title, posting a 78 , seven shots clear of his cousin and multiple Grandsons Challenge winner Jordan Player.

All things considered, it was a neat score, in sloppy conditions on a rough, bare course, mapped out by a kid who only started playing golf two and a half years ago.

“I was very happy with that number,” Alex said. “There was a ton of wind and it’s a very long course.”

He was speaking by phone from his grandfather’s home in West Palm Beach, where he has been staying while preparing for PNC. In the short period since he started playing, Alex has proved a quick study, lowering his handicap to a plus-1. It helps, he says, that he plays golf “almost every day.” It also doesn’t hurt that he learned the basics from a Hall of Famer, in training sessions that included a three-month stretch in South Africa, where Alex and Gary lived on a golf course.

“My grandfather has helped me learn mentally and physically,” Alex said.

Alex is no stranger to tournament golf. Although he is homeschooled, he is a stalwart on the golf team for the Perkiomen School, a high school north of his hometown of Philadelphia. He has also participated in the Pennsylvania State Championship. Still, he said, the Grandkids Challenge was “the most nerve-wracking I’ve ever been.”

He got off to a rough start and was five under through four holes before finding his rhythm and dropping just one shot the rest of the way. Although his grandfather wasn’t around, a small group of family members watched the show, adding to the pressure and, when all was said and done, snapped photos as Alex held the trophy — yes, there is a trophy — aloft.

The real prize, of course, is a seat at PNC.

Of the youngsters on the field, Charlie Woods is bound to attract the brightest attention. But Alex hopes to draw attention, too. His goal is to play Division I college golf.

“And while this is obviously a great opportunity to play with my grandfather, it’s also a chance to get exposure to the coaches,” he said.

In April, Alex will play in another unusual event created by his grandfather: the Gary and Vivienne Player Foundation Junior Challenge, a 90-hole challenge (in honor of the player’s upcoming 90th birthday), open for young players across the country, which raises money. to efforts to lift children out of poverty in the US

But first things first: The PNC Championship, at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, in Orlando. After winning the qualifier, he was now targeting the main event.

“We’re definitely not going there just to have fun,” Alex said. “We want to win.”