Arnold Palmer 1929-2016

During the Sunday Night Football contest tonight, most of the sporting world learned that golfing legend Arnold Palmer passed away today at the age of 87. Palmer, affectionately known as “The King” of professional golf, was a fabulous golfer and one of the greatest ambassadors any sport could have. The humble son of a greenskeeper in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, a town made famous when he drove his family tractor in a Pennzoil commercial, Palmer won seven major championships among 95 career worldwide victories.

Palmer passed away on the same day as the Tour Championship, in which one of today’s great players, Rory McIlroy, won over $1.5 million for winning the event plus a $10 million bonus for being the FedEx Cup champion. To put that into perspective, Palmer won a grand total of $1,861,857 during his PGA Tour career (409th on the career money list), despite being 5th all-time with 62 Tour wins. McIlroy and all of today’s great players owe in part their financial wealth to the trail-blazing Palmer, who made golf a popular sport for mass consumption.

Beginning with his victory at the 1958 Masters, the magnetic, swashbuckling every-man became the most popular player in golf, drawing legions of supporters which became known as “Arnie’s Army.”

“In 1958, that magnetism was on display for a national TV audience, as the Masters was televised for just the third time in history. Viewers found a thin-waisted, wide-shouldered star with a go-for-broke style. He broke down the pre-conceived notions of what a golfer could be, and he made the sport into an athletic adventure played over a stunning natural landscape… Frank Chirkinian, who produced the Masters for CBS for nearly 40 years, has said that he knew golf would succeed as a televised sport the moment Palmer appeared on screen, coming over a rise, silhouetted by the light, with his hair Bryl-creemed into a pompadour and his thick forearms hitching his pants like some long-forgotten cowboy.”

— Jim Gorant (GOLF Magazine)

Palmer would go on to win three more Masters titles along with two British Open championships and his celebrated 1960 U.S. Open title, in which he made a final round charge from seven strokes behind to win with a final round 65.

I didn’t know who Arnold Palmer was until late 1978, when I took up the game of golf at the age of 11. This was five years after his final PGA Tour victory. I quickly became a golf fanatic and recall a Golf Digest article in 1979 in which the writer said he “couldn’t believe” Arnold Palmer had turned 50 years of age. During that same year (1979) I began my life-long love affair with the Masters. Although he never finished higher than a tie for 19th after I started watching the event, Palmer was always a part of the story at Augusta.

One of the long-standing traditions at the Masters is that, once you are a champion and don the green jacket, you’re invited back to participate in the tournament as long as you’re able to play. So, to the delight of the patrons at Augusta, the legends of the game continue to tee it up even when they’re time as a legitimate contender has passed. So Palmer, the most popular player of his time, continued to delight his Army just by his presence. The King stopped teeing it up at the main event after missing his 16th straight cut in 2004 (he was 74 years old in his last appearance) but, due to another wonderful tradition, he would continue to appear at Augusta every year until his last.

Many of the past champions who no longer participate in the tournament still make an annual appearance at the Par 3 tournament, which is played every Wednesday before the Masters begins. In addition, the most legendary of the legends kick off the event early Thursday morning with ceremonial tee shots.

I attended my first Masters in 2010. The visit was due to a fairly lucky coincidence of a business trip in Atlanta over the weekend. I just spent one day at Augusta that year but was hooked for life. In 2011, I went back for two days, being sure to arrive early enough Thursday morning to see the ceremonial drives that begin every tournament. Every year since then, I’ve set my alarm for 5:00 AM to make sure that I could get a prime spot to view the very special moment. For the last several years, Palmer was joined on the first tee by fellow luminaries Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. Known as the “Big Three,” Palmer, Nicklaus and Player combined for 13 Masters championships.

Masters.com

It’s hard to adequately express what a special moment it is to witness these moments every year, watching giants take a swing of the driver even just one time. When I witnessed the ceremony this year, there was a notable change. Only Nicklaus and Player hit their drives. Palmer attended the event but was unable to swing the club. In fact he had to be helped out of his chair just to stand up and wave to the adoring patrons. To my eyes, The King looked very frail, as if he had aged five years in just 12 months. I sadly admit wondering how much time he had left. A little over five months after this, his final public appearance, Palmer passed away.

Arnold Palmer, you were a humble legend, golf’s greatest ambassador, a philantropist and will be missed by millions. Rest in peace.

Below, you’ll see Arnold Palmer the last time he ever swung a golf club in public (and likely at all), his ceremonial tee shot to kick off the 2015 Masters. The King was 85 at the time. You might notice a friend of yours on the bottom right of the photo.