Palmer
One of the greatest players ever to step up to the green, Arnold Palmer was born in Latrobe, PA – a city which is justifiably proud of its most famous native son. Ever since his first major tournament win all the way back in 1955, Palmer has been one of the biggest names in golf – many fans refer to him as “The King”. Along with Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus, Palmer is one of the Big Three names in the golf world. Palmer’s playing was in large part responsible for the increased interest in golf as a spectator sport once games began to be televised in the 1950s.
Arnold began early, having learned his love for the game from his father, Deacon; a greens keeper at the Latrobe Country Club. At the tender age of seven, Palmer scored a 70 at the nearby Bent Creek Country Club, an impressive achievement, especially considering his age. Palmer cut his teeth in the game on the then only nine hole Latrobe Country Club course, on which he was allowed to play early in the morning and late in the afternoon when members did not have tee times scheduled.
He attended the popular Wake Forest University appropriately on a golf scholarship and served for three years in the Coast Guard. During this time, while continuing to develop his golf skills, he married Winifred Walker who he met while playing in a Pennsylvania golf tourney. During his rookie season, he won the Canadian Open and surged ahead with personality and business ideas that made golf a sport people became interested in and wanted to watch-many people give Palmer the credit for the sport becoming so popular.
He won his first major championship at the 1958 Masters and by 1960, he claimed his title as one of golf’s leading stars. Signing with sports agent Mark McCormack, in 1960, McCormack was asked in later years what made Arnold so special. He replied, “his good looks, his modest background, the way he played golf, his risk taking and wearing his heart on his sleeve, and his involvement in so many exciting early televised finishes.” Palmer was one the first US player to win The Open Championship in England-Ben Hogan won it in 1953; making Arnold an international star in the eyes of golf fans everywhere. Arnold won seven major championships including The Masters in 1958, 1960, 1962, and 1964; the US Open in 1960; and, The Open Championship in 1961 and 1962. His best years were perhaps 1960-1963 where he championed 29 PGA Tour events in just four seasons.
In 1960, Arnold was named Sports Illustrated top pro athlete of the year and he won the Sportsman of the Year award. His fans, known as “Arnie’s Army,” cheered when their Arnie became the first man to reach one million dollars in career earnings in 1967. Even with pros like Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player playing alongside him, Arnold managed to win a PGA Tour every year all the way up to 1970 and in 1971 he enjoyed a rejuvenation of his career winning four events.
Arnold won the Vardon Trophy for low score average four different times and played on six Ryder Cup teams. By 1980, the acclaimed golfer was eligible for the Senior PGA Tour and with his name alone, helped make the tour successful. The tourney would eventually be renamed as the Champions Tour. On the Senior Tour he won ten events on the tour and with the help of his agent McCormack, Palmer became tops in pay for endorsements, sponsorships, and charity events. He has also won the revered Presidential Medal of Freedom Award presented to him by George W. Bush.
In 2004, Arnold played in The Masters for the last time-his 50th consecutive appearance and when he missed the cut at the 2005 US Senior Open, he then announced he would not play any further senior majors, retiring from golf in 2006. To the delight of Arnie’s Army, one of his most memorable events was during the 2004 Bay Hill Invitational where standing over 200 yards from the 18th green, he lashed his second shot onto the green with a driver. Even Arnold smiled and celebrated the moment along with his grandson/caddie, Sam Saunders.
Arnold Palmer remains active in the golf world, being involved in the Bay Hill Club and Lodge (which is where the Arnolf Palmer Invitational is held), being one of the driving forces behind the Golf Channel and assisting in the building of one of China’s first golf courses. Palmer also started the Arnold Palmer Design Company and since 1971, he has been owner of the Latrobe Country Club where he got his first taste of the game. Golf Digest ranked Palmer as one of the top ten players of all time and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and a winner of the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award (which he won in 1988). Palmer lives in Orlando, Florida where he still enjoys getting in a round of golf – and being an ambassador for the game of golf to the world.