There are worse people to turn to when your golf swing has gone missing than Gary Player. Particularly when the nine-time major champion happens to be standing beside you on the practice range.

For Linda van der Nest, a few words of advice from the South African golfing legend proved rather useful. By the end of Sunday, 1 November, she had helped her team win the 2026 Gary and Vivienne Player Invitational at the Lost City Golf Club.

And Player, celebrating his 91st birthday, had played his part without needing to hit a competitive shot.

A Birthday Lesson That Made All the Difference

Van der Nest arrived on the practice range struggling with her swing and fearing the worst. Player stepped in with a couple of adjustments and encouraged her to concentrate on those changes once she reached the course.

The advice worked.

“This morning my swing was nowhere on the practice range. I thought my round was going to be a disaster. Mr Player showed me one or two things and said to just focus on that on the golf course. I did that and my irons were on point,” said Van Der Nest, who contributed an impressive 37 points on the final day.

Playing alongside Sunshine Tour professional James Mack, rugby star Kade Wolhuter and fellow business leader Rainier van der Nest, she helped secure the title with a winning total of 189 points.

Not a bad return on a brief birthday morning lesson.

For Van der Nest, though, the result was only part of what made the weekend memorable.

“It was a fantastic two days on the golf course. We had such fun as a team. Whether we came first or last, we just knew it was going to be a great two days on the course together, and I think that’s why we did so well,” she said.

A Close Contest at Lost City

The winning quartet had little room for complacency, with just six points separating the top three teams.

Sunshine Tour professional Graham van der Merwe joined former footballer Bongani Khumalo, businessman Mark Rowles and Sunshine Tour Commissioner Thomas Abt to finish runners-up on 185 points.

Third place went to professional Luke Brown, former Springbok Steven Kitshoff and businessmen Marco Barnard and Jeff Reiss, who completed the event on 183 points.

The competition brought together professional golfers, sporting figures and business leaders, but the bigger purpose was to raise funds for the Gary and Vivienne Player Foundation.

Gary Player’s Birthday Wish Goes Beyond Golf

The Invitational supports the Blair Atholl Pre-Primary School, with the Foundation working to improve early-years education and provide further development opportunities for its teachers.

For Player, who has spent much of his life using golf to support charitable causes, the birthday celebrations offered another opportunity to draw attention to that work.

“The path to 91 is love. We have so much love here from all of you who take the time to be a part of this weekend with us, coming from all over the world. We want to keep working to raise funds for the Blair Atholl Pre-Primary School and also for our teachers there, so that we can keep upskilling them to have an even greater impact on our next generation of South Africans,” he said.

It was a sentiment shared by Mack, whose winning contribution came alongside an appreciation of the people involved.

“The golf was just a bonus on top. It was wonderful to meet so many good golfers, but more importantly they’re all even better human beings,” he said.

For Van der Nest, the weekend ended with a trophy and a swing that had finally started behaving itself. For Player, the satisfaction appeared to lie in something bigger: another gathering of people willing to use their love of golf to support education.

At 91, he is still giving lessons. Some just extend a little further than the practice range.