Player finds new girlfriend at age 89

Gary Player is a big believer that one can't go through life without love. Even at age 89, he's never too old to find it. Player happily shared his big news at the PNC Championship.

He has a new girlfriend.

"I said I wanted to live until 100.Now if I live to 91, I'll be happy," Player said with a laugh. "Isn't that amazing that, at 89, you can find a girlfriend? She loves everything I love — golf, fishing, gym work, reading, opera — everything."

Her name is Susan Waterfall, she lives in New York and she's 83. Player's wife, Vivienne, died in 2021.They had been married for 64 years.

Player said he wasn't searching. Friends approached him during a fundraiser at Leopard Creek in South Africa about a woman he should meet. It never happened. He was in New York for a golf course design when someone else brought up her name. Again, they never connected. Then he was invited to be an honorary member for a new golf course in Miami, where memberships go for about $1.3 million.

"I'm on the putting green and this lady comes up and says, 'I'm Susan Waterfall. Everyone has been trying to introduce us,'" Player said. "I put my arm around her — she's gorgeous- and I said, 'I love this country, America, so much. I've got to have an American girlfriend.' She blushes, doesn't say anything. So I asked: 'Will you come to dinner with me?'"

He called her two days later in New York — he says she stepped out of a board meeting to take his call — and they headed to Gleneagles in Scotland to go fishing.

"She's very rich," he said. "I said: 'Listen, Susan, I don't need your money. I'm also rich. You don't need my money, but if you die before me, you can leave me a little.'"

Stick to the script

Nelly Korda is celebrating Christmas a little early, because her younger brother Sebastian is headed Down Under for the Australian Open tennis tournament. And then she's off to the mountains for a little dog sledding!

"I'm very excited for that, something I've never done," Korda said. "I love the mountains, I love snow, so I'm super excited for that to recharge my batteries. I skied as a kid, but I do not ski now. I'm already fragile enough."

The recharging comes after her epic start to the year. Korda found a recipe that worked during a season that delivered seven victories and led to her being named LPGA player of the year. She played twice in Florida (winning the second event), sat out a month during the first Asia swing, returned and won her next four starts.

Hype and reality

The Crypto.com Showdown had everything — except for a lot of people watching.

The made-for-TV match at Shadow Creek pitted PGA Tour stars Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy against LIV Golf stars Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka. It was under the lights at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. It was billed as the PGA Tour versus LIV, supposedly what golf fans wanted.

But, according to Sports Business Journal, the 16-hole match (Scheffler and McIlroy won handily) drew only 625,000 viewers across two networks on TNT and TBS on a Tuesday night.

Sports Business Journal said that put it as the second-lowest viewership for "The Match" series.

One of those viewers was Fred Couples, but not until the fifth hole.

"I did not know it was on," Couples said. He only realized when his longtime caddie, Joe LaCava, sent him a text about it.

"It was pitch dark and freezing. Now, I don't know why they would do that, to play a match that big. But, I thought it was fun," Couples said.

"I just — we just — didn't get the pitch dark. It was just weird."

Agencies Via Xinhua