Listen to Gary Player talk about breaking Arnold Palmer's longevity record at the Masters Tournament, and one thing becomes abundantly clear.

Three-time champion Gary Player set a Masters Tournament record by teeing off in an opening round for the 51st time. (Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff)

It's all about the fitness, baby.

A self-proclaimed exercise freak, Player credits his 51 times of teeing it up at the tournament to the physical condition he has maintained since his early playing days. Called a nut by some in golf when he made lifting weights a part of his training regimen, he now takes pleasure in having been proved right.

Some of those critics, he observed, probably are no longer around.

"Any man who exercises hard," the 72-year-old Player said, "is going to outlast somebody else who doesn't."

There have been thousands of somebodies he's outlasted since his first appearance at the Masters in 1957. He has played the tournament every year since, except for 1973, when a bladder operation sidelined him.

That interruption caused some, including Palmer, to question the legitimacy of Player's accomplishment. It's a subject the South African wouldn't touch after Thursday's opening round.

After hitting the tournament's ceremonial first shot Thursday, Palmer was gracious about being relegated to second place in Masters playing longevity.

"I was kind of resigned to that," Palmer said. "I kidded him about it yesterday."

Though he has played in more than two-thirds of all Masters, Player admitted to being a little nervous on the first tee Thursday. The record weighed heavily in that.

"A lot of things go through your mind ..." he said. "And you're out there and it's just a little bit of pressure today. I felt a little bit of pressure. It's a heck of an honor to know that you've played this tournament more than anybody else.''

Gary Player took home the winner's green jacket in 1961, 1974 and 1978. (Special)

As far as some are concerned, it's a record he can keep.

"Hell, I had a hard enough time getting through the day, for God's sake. Are you kidding?" said 1979 champ Fuzzy Zoeller, who is in his 30th year at the Masters, when asked about competing as long as Player. "No, I'm close to be sitting up there with Mr. Palmer and relaxing. (Palmer) asked me this morning before he hit his first shot, 'What the hell are you doing playing?' I said, 'That's a good point.' "

Player admits that the course's length has made it more difficult. Par for him, he said, is now 80. Using his definition, he shot 3-over-par Thursday.

The course, which is more than 400 yards longer than when Player won his last green jacket in 1978, is why others from Player's era decided to put away their clubs.

"Guys my age, it's tough," said Tommy Aaron, 71, who won in 1973 and stopped competing in the Masters three years ago. "We have such long shots to the green. We're back there hitting fairway metals, and other players are back there hitting 5- and 6-irons. Par is about 78 for me around here. That's the reason you stop playing, when par gets to be about 78."

As one of only seven players to win at least three green jackets, Player has endeared himself to longtime fans who make the annual pilgrimage to Augusta.

Jack Matthews, of Columbia, has been coming to the Masters for more than 40 years and considers Player an ambassador of golf committed to excellence, both in body and mind.

"He's a great man," said Matthews, who met Player when he was a missionary in South Africa. On Thursday he watched him make bogey on No. 8. "He's a physical man, and it's paid off for him. He's got a quality of life second to none."

To achieve that quality of life, Player says he tries to go into the gym every day. There are foods he avoids at all cost.

"To me the poisons of the world are the bacons, the ice cream, the white bread, dairy products," he said. "I try to stay away from that. Fat makes you fat. I'm trying to live on vegetables, fruits, fish and walnuts and avocados and good salads. And good exercise."

Which is why the longevity record he now holds will not stay at 51. He plans to be back in 2009, bigger and better.

"I'll tell you one thing, when I come back next year, I'll be a hell of a lot stronger than I am this year," Player said. "I'm coming back stronger, man."