Arnold Palmer: 'The King' of golf dies at 87

[Sdiver]

Many is the Saturday or Sunday that I would watch this sport, on television, with my dad, and be marveled at the "battles" Arnold, Jack (Nicklaus) and Gary (Player) put on.

He will be missed.

Arnold Palmer: 'The King' of golf dies at 87

Arnold Palmer was the telegenic golfer who took a staid sport to TV and to the masses

Before accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004, Arnold Palmer shared a few laughs with President George W. Bush and gave the commander in chief a few golf tips in the East Room of the White House.

Five years later, when honored with the Congressional Gold Medal, Palmer, who again offered golf tips to some of the most important politicians in the country, jokingly thanked the House and the Senate for being able to agree on something.

After receiving the highest civilian awards given in the United States, Palmer went outside each day, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the U.S. Capitol, and signed autographs for hundreds of people.

That was Palmer, a man who connected with the masses, who related to kids, the hourly wage employee, the CEO — and Presidents.

Palmer, who died Sunday in Pittsburgh at age 87, was the accessible common man who would become the King and lead his own army. Along the way he became one of the sport's best players and a successful businessman, philanthropist, trailblazing advertising spokesman, talented golf course designer and experienced aviator.

"We are deeply saddened by the death of Arnold Palmer, golf's greatest ambassador, at age 87," the U.S. Golf Association said in a statement. "Arnold Palmer will always be a champion, in every sense of the word. He inspired generations to love golf by sharing his competitive spirit, displaying sportsmanship, caring for golfers and golf fans, and serving as a lifelong ambassador for the sport. Our stories of him not only fill the pages of golf’s history books and the walls of the museum, but also our own personal golf memories. The game is indeed better because of him, and in so many ways, will never be the same."

While his approach on the course was not a model of aesthetics — the whirlybird followthrough, the pigeon-toed putting stance — it worked for him. With thick forearms and a thin waist, Palmer had an aggressive risk-reward approach to golf that made for compelling theater. He hit the ball with authority and for distance and ushered in an aggressive, hitch-up-your-trousers, go-for-broke, in-your-face power game rarely seen in the often stoic and staid sport.

Palmer, part of the alluring "Big Three," with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, won 62 titles on the PGA Tour, his last coming in the 1973 Bob Hope Desert Classic. Among those victories were four at the Masters, two at the British Open and one at the U.S. Open. He finished second in the U.S. Open four times, was runner-up three times in the PGA Championship, the only major that eluded him, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.

Palmer became one of the best known sports figures and, at 5-10, 175, a telegenic golfer who burst out of black-and-white television sets across the country in the late 1950s and into the 1960s and took the game to the masses.

"Arnold meant everything to golf. Are you kidding me?" Tiger Woods said . "I mean, without his charisma, without his personality in conjunction with TV — it was just the perfect symbiotic growth. You finally had someone who had this charisma, and they're capturing it on TV for the very first time.

"Everyone got hooked to the game of golf via TV because of Arnold."

Friend to Presidents

Palmer won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour four times, played on six Ryder Cup teams and was captain twice.

He received virtually every national award in golf and was the "Athlete of the Decade" for the 1960s in a national Associated Press poll. Palmer, who helped found the Golf Channel decades later, also helped usher in the Champions Tour, where he won 10 times, including five majors.

He was a magnetic star who attracted legions of fans who had never played golf as the television boon exploded across the land.

Those fans included U.S. presidents.

Dwight Eisenhower, who loved golf, was one of Palmer's best friends. Richard Nixon asked Palmer about the Vietnam War. Palmer played golf with both Presidents Bush.

Eisenhower painted Palmer's picture — as did Norman Rockwell. There is a drink named in Palmer's honor, as well as an airport, a golf tournament, hospitals, streets, charity initiatives and 19th-hole grill rooms.

And from start to finish, Palmer signed as many autographs, posed for as many pictures, chatted with as many fans in the galleries as any golfer who hit a golf ball.

"There are two things that made golf appealing to the average man — Arnold Palmer and the invention of the mulligan," actor/comedian and good friend Bob Hope once said.

Palmer was a folk hero with a driver in his hand and a handshake after the round. From 2007 through 2015, he served as the honorary starter for the Masters, creating one of the best moments of the tournament every year on Thursday morning.

"Arnold Palmer was the everyday man's hero," Nicklaus said. "From the modest upbringing, Arnold embodied the hard-working strength of America."

Origins of 'Arnie's Army'

Palmer was the oldest of four children born to Deacon and Doris Palmer. He received his first set of golf clubs from his father, who worked at Latrobe Country Club from 1921 until his death in 1976. Growing up near the sixth tee of the club, Palmer learned the grip and the swing from his father, as well as manners, empathy, integrity and respect.

Palmer worked nearly every job at the club before heading to Wake Forest University, where he became one of the top collegiate players. But when his close friend, Bud Worsham, was killed in a car accident, Palmer quit school and enlisted for a three-year hitch in the U.S. Coast Guard.

While stationed in Cleveland, his passion for golf was rekindled. Then, while working as a paint salesman, Palmer quickly got his game back in order and won the 1954 U.S. Amateur Championship. On Nov. 18, 1954, at 25, he turned pro and signed a contract with Wilson Sporting Goods.

His greatest stretch of golf began in 1960 and lasted four years, with Palmer winning six major championships and 29 titles on the PGA Tour. It was in 1960, at the Masters in Augusta, Ga., that a local newspaper coined the phrase "Arnie's Army," when soldiers from nearby Camp Gordon followed Palmer. Soon, non-uniformed fans across the land enlisted.

Palmer's defining moment, one that embedded the word "charge" into the minds of his adoring fans, came in the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills. Palmer had won the Masters two months earlier, with birdies on the final two holes to edge Ken Venturi by one shot. But Palmer began the final round of the Open seven strokes and 14 players behind and was told by Bob Drum of The Pittsburgh Press that he was too far behind to win.

Angered by the remark, Palmer drove the first green 346 yards away and made the first of four consecutive birdies. He added birdies on the sixth and seventh and shot a final-round 65 to complete the comeback victory.

A month later, Palmer made a pilgrimage to St. Andrews for the British Open, and his presence helped salvage the game's oldest championship and elevated it back among the game's best tournaments.

In all, Palmer won eight times in 1960, the year he signed with pioneering sports agent Mark McCormack and quickly became a marketing giant for products ranging from golf equipment to jackets and slacks to automobile oil and rental cars. Palmer became the first professional golfer to earn $1 million for his career. Even into his 80s he was pulling in an estimated $20 million per year.

"Arnold was the epitome of a superstar," fellow Hall of Famer Raymond Floyd said. "He set the standard for how superstars in every sport ought to be, in the way he has always signed autographs, in the way he has always made time for everyone. On the golf course, all I ever saw was a mass of people. He was able to focus in on everyone in the gallery individually. It wasn't fake.

"And man, could he play the game."


Continued here ---> http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...tuary/1881465/

[Sohei]

He was a classy man and a great golfer!

Rest In Peace, Mr. Palmer and thank you for the many years of great entertainment!

[Sdiver]

This was just released by Jack Nicklaus ...

.

I just got the news at about 8:45 that Arnold had passed. I was shocked to hear that we lost a great friend—and that golf lost a great friend.

At this point I don’t know what happened, and I suppose it is not important what happened. What is important is that we just lost one of the incredible people in the game of golf and in all of sports. My friend—many people’s friend—just wore out. I know he was in Pittsburgh trying to find out how to make himself better. That’s what Arnold has always tried to do. He has always been a fighter and he never gave up on anything. He didn’t give up even now. Maybe his body did, but I know Arnold’s will and spirit did not.

I wish I had another chance to talk to him, but I am so glad we talked a couple weeks ago on his birthday (Sept. 10), when he sounded great. So Barbara and I are just in shock and incredibly saddened. Our hearts, thoughts, prayers and sympathies go out to Kit, his kids, grand-kids, great grandchildren, and his entire loving family.

He was one of my best friends, closest friends, and he was for a long, long time. I will miss him greatly.

Arnold transcended the game of golf. He was more than a golfer or even great golfer. He was an icon. He was a legend. Arnold was someone who was a pioneer in his sport. He took the game from one level to a higher level, virtually by himself. Along the way, he had millions of adoring fans—Barbara and I among them. We were great competitors, who loved competing against each other, but we were always great friends along the way. Arnold always had my back, and I had his. We were always there for each other. That never changed.

He was the king of our sport and always will be.

[Divemaster]

My father loved to golf, and loved to watch golf (he was Air Force, so a good fit). Arnie was his favorite, so I, at his knee, loved Arnie too as a wee lad.

My heroes wear camouflage. But, for my dad, I can salute the man in the comfortable sweater. Straight fairways, and short putts Arnold Palmer.

[PSM]

My wife and I were discussing tonight how, in our younger days, we knew athletes of sports that we may not have even cared about. My wife knew the ‘70/‘80s era Dodgers, the L.A. Raiders and Rams, the Lakers, McEnroe, Connors, Phil and Steve Mahre, Danny Sullivan, the Andrettie’s, Jim Clark, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna, Palmer, Nicklaus, Payne Stewart, etc. Now, not so much. Sure, some of the tennis players threw tantrums, but they did it to garner viewers not to disrespect any one or any thing. I fear those days are gone. And I fear more than that is gone.

Rest in Peace, Arnold. I’ve never played the game, but thank you for being there for those who do and those of us who don’t.

Pat

[UWOA (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Sdiver

Many is the Saturday or Sunday that I would watch this sport, on television, with my dad, and be marveled at the "battles" Arnold, Jack (Nicklaus) and Gary (Player) put on.

He will be missed.

He was one of the anchors in the bond between me and my dad. I will miss him as I miss my father ....

.

[Patrin]

A very good man...he did a lot for children...ALOT. RIP, Arnold, the example you set in Golf and in life will be remembered.