Special report: Most underappreciated athletes - Other sports- nbcsports.msnbc.com

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SPECIAL FEATURE

A look at our most underappreciated athletes

GOLF

Dave Martin / AP
Gary Player, center, will always be overshadowed by Arnold Palmer, left, and Jack Nicklaus, right.
GARY PLAYER
It wasn’t like the diminutive South African didn’t have some unique traits that made him stand out. He wore all black clothes on the hottest of golf courses, saying he absorbed energy from the sun. He ate raisins and other health foods and was a fitness fanatic when that wasn’t the case for golfers of his era. But Gary Player will always be the forgotten one from the ‘Big 3’ that launched golf into national prominence. Why? Because Jack Nicklaus, the original master of the majors, and Arnold Palmer, he of the celebrated comebacks and legion of fans known as Arnie’s Army, were the other two. The Palmer-Nicklaus rivalry is one of the greatest in any individual sport. Player was a player, too, with nine major titles. But he didn’t seek the spotlight and it rarely found him.

Honorable Mention:

Ernie Els: He’s the least known of the ‘Big Four’ with his elegant game and gentlemanly style that is overshadowed by Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Phil Mikkelson.

Annika Sorenstam: It isn’t her fault that she is the runaway No. 1 player on the LPGA Tour that is just a blip on the radar screen compared to the Tiger Tour.

READER RESPONSE

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CONTINUED : TENNIS

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