Even at his age, Gary Player has a girlfriend. But that’s not the surprising part. He doesn’t want to propose, and the reason will surprise you. Player disclosed the reason recently in an interview with Fried Egg Golf’s Kevin Van Valkenburg at the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink.

Valkenburg asked Player whether he listened to podcasts, but he digressed. Player started comparing reading to using phones and remarked that he doesn’t prefer the latter for one simple reason.

“Oh, it becomes so addictive. And kids today, they don’t read anymore. Keep the phone, but do some reading.”

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And strangely, that is why he won’t marry his girlfriend, Suzanne Waterfall. She is an 80-year-old New York native who is passionate about golf, fitness, travel, and opera.

“I got a girlfriend at 90 now. She wants me to marry her. I said, ‘I’m not going to marry you. I’m not getting married at 91. You should marry your phone.’ She’s on that phone so damn much.”

Player lost his beloved wife of 64 years, Vivienne, to pancreatic cancer in 2021. He often calls the tough phase “the desert.” He later met Waterfall at a charity golf event in 2023.

Player’ and Waterfall’s friends tried to make the two meet for over a year, and they finally met in Miami. He was at the event as the honorary member of the new golf course when she walked up to him on the putting green and said,

“I’m Susan Waterfall. Everyone has been trying to introduce her.”

To everyone’s amazement, Player put his arm around her on the spot and affectionately called her “Suzanne Tsunami” because of her energy. They saw each other for a year before announcing their relationship at the PNC Championship in late 2024.

“Boy, it’s changed my life. You’ve got to have a love in your life,” Player said.

Coming back to Player’s earlier comments, he has always advocated for reading and exercising daily and views excessive phone use as everything he has spent 90 years resisting.

A 2025 National Literacy Trust survey found that just one in three children aged 8 to 18 said they enjoy reading in their free time. It is the lowest recorded in 20 years, marking a 36% drop in reading enjoyment in 2005. Fewer than one in three said they read something daily. In the U.S., the average daily personal reading time is just 15 minutes, yet people spend nearly five hours a day on their phones.

But this is not the first time Player has been vocal about the importance of education and fitness.

Gary Players’ initiatives toward youth fitness and empowerment 

The Gary and Vivienne Player Foundation U.S. is preparing to launch a new series of programs in 2026, starting in Philadelphia. It aims to target underprivileged children in urban communities. The focus areas include sports as a pathway to discipline and healthy living, improving academic literacy, inculcating leadership and life skills, and family wellness.

Since 2022, the foundation has re-established itself in the U.S., raised more than $5 million, and positively impacted over 40,000 children in three years. Just last week, it held its 2026 legacy event, raising funds specifically for the Player Academy Youth Development Initiative.

Further, Player’s son, Mark, founded the original Player Foundation in 1983 to provide education, nutrition, medical care, and any extracurricular activities to at-risk children near the family’s home in South Africa.

“The youth of the nation are the trustees of prosperity. Let’s build up the youth of America so it stays number one.”

Just two weeks ago, on May 5th, Player was at the White House alongside Bryson DeChambeau to sign a proclamation reviving the presidential fitness test. Player used this moment at the podium to highlight the same issue.

“Freedom, exercise, and education start with reading some books.”