Player set for final Masters bow

Gary Player has said that this week''s Masters will be his final appearance in a Major tournament.

Although he intends to continue playing on the Seniors Tour, the 73-year-old South African will bow out of the regular tour and the Majors after making a record 52 appearances at Augusta National.

Player won the Masters in 1961, 1974 and 1978, but has struggled to make the cut at the famous Georgia course in recent years.

The nine-time Major winner said that recent changes at Augusta have made it increasingly difficult for him to muster the necessary length off the tee.

"I''m hitting the ball so short now, I can hear it land," Player joked at a press conference on Monday (April 6th).

He added: "I''ve enjoyed it so much. The people I''ve met over the years, and the battles that I had with Arnold [Palmer] and Jack [Nicklaus] and others, and now to see all of these young fellows coming along."

Last year, Nike golfer Trevor Immelman became the first South African to win the Masters since Player''s 1978 victory.