Player remembers friend of 60 years, Arnold Palmer
He was golf’s first true great and one of the Big Three
GARY Player remembers the many traits of Arnold Palmer: a fiercely competitive golfer who had a “slashing, dashing” style and didn’t know when he was beaten.
A man who could be “difficult and demanding”, Player said it was no secret they had had their differences, but Palmer was also a person blessed with “charisma, charm and patience”.
“Arnold was many things to many people and undoubtedly made golf more popular, but to me he was simply a dear friend for over 60 years,” Player said.
Player woke up on his farm yesterday morning to learn of Palmer’s death on Sunday in Pittsburgh at the age of 87.
A nine-time major winner, his career was intertwined with those of Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, and maybe they were all partly defined by their Big Three rivalry in the 1960s and 1970s.
Player had so many vivid memories of Palmer, he said, and his recollections matched many of Nicklaus’s. Those two men probably understood Palmer, a seven-time major winner and golf ’s first superstar, better than most.
Like Nicklaus, Player said Palmer “transcended the game of golf ”. Like Nicklaus, Player remembered, above all, his friendship with Palmer. There were times of tension, but it stayed on the course, Player and Nicklaus both said.
“He was inspirational to so many and lived his life to the fullest. He had a slashing, dashing style, accompanied with a knowing smile.”
Earlier yesterday, organisers of the British Open recognised Palmer for his “immeasurable” contribution to golf ’s oldest major, a tournament he won twice in the early 1960s and helped bring to international prominence.
Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, called Palmer “a true gentleman, one of the greatest to play the game”.
Palmer won the British Open in 1961 and 1962. He last played the Open in 1995, 35 years after his first appearance.
“His Open Championship was, and remains, immeasurable,” Slumbers said.
“He will be missed and forever remembered by all at the R&A and throughout the world of golf as a charismatic and global champion of our game.”
Ernie Els also paid tribute to the seven-time major winner.
“Such sad news to hear about the passing of #arnoldpalmer. Great memories of him. His legacy in the game & charity will live forever,” Els tweeted.
South Africa’s top-ranked golfer, Branden Grace, also paid tribute to the man affectionately known as The King, saying: “It was an honour to meet a man who was a hero to so many on and off the course!”
Palmer first played the British Open in 1960, finishing runner-up in what he later called one of the biggest disappointments of his career. But his appearance invigorated the British Open, which Americans had been ignoring for many years.
“Without question Arnold’s participation in the Open Championship in the early 1960s was the catalyst to truly internationalise golf,” European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said.
“The fact that he was loved and recognised by everyone across the globe is testament to his charismatic legacy.”
Palmer was made an honorary member of the European Tour in 1995. – Additional reporting by ANA
NEW YORK: Arnold Palmer charged across the golf course and into America’s living rooms with a go-for-broke style that made a country-club sport popular for the everyman. At ease with presidents and the public, he was on a first-name basis with both.
He never lost that personal touch. That’s what made him the King.
Palmer died Sunday in Pittsburgh at 87. Alastair Johnston, the CEO of Arnold Palmer Enterprises, said Palmer was admitted to the UPMC Hospital on Thursday for cardiovascular work and weakened over the last few days. Palmer was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1997, which was caught early.
“Arnold transcended the game of golf,” Jack Nicklaus said. “He was more than a golfer or even a great golfer. He was an icon. He was a legend.”
Palmer’s place in golf history went well beyond his seven Major championships and 62 PGA Tour wins. His good looks, devilish grin and hard-charging style made the elite sport appealing to all. He arrived about the time TV moved into most households.
“If it wasn’t for Arnold, golf wouldn’t be as popular as it is now,” Tiger Woods said in 2004 when Palmer played in his last Masters. “He’s the one who basically brought it to the forefront on TV.”
Palmer was a pioneer in sports marketing, paving the way for many athletes to reap in millions from endorsements. Some four decades after his last PGA Tour win, he ranked among golf ’s highest-earners.
“It is not an exaggeration to say there would be no modernday PGA Tour without Arnold Palmer. There would be no PGA Tour Champions without Arnold Palmer. There would be no Golf Channel without Arnold Palmer,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement.
It was, of course, not just the victories, but how he won. He would hitch up his pants, drop a cigarette and attack the flags. With powerful hands wrapped around the golf club, Palmer would slash at the ball, twist that muscular neck and squint to see where it went.
“When he hits the ball, the earth shakes,” Gene Littler once said. He was never dull.
He leaves behind a gallery known as “Arnie’s Army,” which began at Augusta National with a small group of soldiers from nearby Fort Gordon and grew to include legions of fans from around the globe.
Palmer stopped playing the Masters in 2004 and hit the ceremonial tee shot every year until 2016, when age began to take a toll.
He never won the PGA Championship, one Major short of a career Grand Slam. But then, the standard he set went beyond trophies. It was the way he treated people, looking everyone in the eye with a smile and signing every autograph, making sure they were legible. He never liked “The King” label but it stuck.
“I don’t relish it,” he told The Associated Press in 2011. “I tried for a long time to stop that, and there was no point.”
He was equally successful in business with golf course design, a wine collection and apparel that included his famous logo of an umbrella. He bought the Bay Hill Club & Lodge upon making his winter home in Orlando, Florida. In 2007, the PGA Tour changed the tournament’s name to the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Palmer was born September 10, 1929, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, the oldest of four children. He joined the PGA Tour in 1955 and captured the Canadian Open for his first title. He won four green jackets at Augusta National, the British Open in 1961 and 1962 and the US Open in 1960.
Palmer’s last PGA Tour win came in 1973 at the Bob Hope Classic. Only four other players won more PGA Tour events — Sam Snead, Nicklaus, Woods and Ben Hogan. – AP