• South African golf legend Gary Player's wife Vivienne is battling pancreatic cancer.
• It is believed she has been ill for some time and is receiving treatment in Santa Barbara, California.
• Gary Player was recently in the news over a legal dispute with his son Marc.

South African golf legend Gary Player's wife Vivienne is battling cancer.

Afrikaans newspaper Rapport revealed on Sunday that Vivienne Player has pancreatic cancer and is receiving treatment in Santa Barbara, California. It is believed she has been ill for some time.

The couple celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary in January.

Gary Player, 84, was recently in the news over a legal dispute with his son Marc.

It was reported last week that the legendary South African golfer would receive a settlement fee of $5 million (around R87 million) having entered into an arbitration dispute with the Gary Player Group - his company operated by Marc - over ownership and naming rights.

The Gary Player Group confirmed that it will be seeking a counter claim beyond the resolved arbitration and Marc also expressed sadness over what he considers a "deteriorated" relationship with his father.

Gary Player is arguably South Africa's greatest sportsman, having won 163 professional golf tournaments, including nine majors.

- Compiled by Sport24 staff