Palmer’s legacy overshadows the Ryder Cup

CHASKA, MINN. >> The flag at half-staff over Hazeltine National was enough to take the edge off the Ryder Cup.

Arnold Palmer occupied everyone’s thoughts on Monday.

“There’s a hole in the game that can’t be filled,” Phil Mickelson said.

Tributes poured in for Palmer, who died Sunday at age 87. Even as European players arrived from an overnight flight out of Heathrow Airport, any conversation about the Ryder Cup was secondary to their thoughts on the King.

“The legacy he leaves behind is very important,” Martin Kaymer said. “He inspired millions of people. That’s what we as humans should try to do.”

Alastair Johnston, the CEO of Arnold Palmer Enterprises, said Palmer had gone to Pittsburgh for a heart procedure in a bid to improve “the quality of life he was severely losing.” The surgery was to be Monday morning. He said his condition deteriorated over the last few days.

A private funeral in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, was scheduled for later in the week. Johnston said that would be for “pure family, direct relationships.” He said a public ceremony to commemorate Palmer’s life would be held at 11 a.m. on Oct. 4 at St. Vincent College.

Johnston said Palmer would not have wanted to encroach on a week in golf as big as the Ryder Cup, though that proved difficult.

And the Ryder Cup made it clear it did not want to go on without Palmer.

PGA of America President Derek Sprague said there would a video tribute and a moment of silence before the highcharged matches begin Friday. He also said players would pay homage to Palmer, though details have not been decided.

“It was tough waking up this morning and starting over,” U.S. captain Davis Love III said. “I know everybody on our team was just kind of crushed last night . ... This is a big blow for golf, but we knew it was coming, unfortunately, since maybe even before the Bay Hill tournament this year when we saw him. His legacy will live on forever, especially through the Ryder Cup.”

The Ryder Cup was but a small part of Palmer’s contributions to golf and sport. He played on six teams, all of them American victories during a time when they faced a Britain & Ireland squad that was overmatched. Palmer holds the U.S. record for most matches won (22), and in 1963 at East Lake he holds the distinction as being the last Ryder Cup playing captain. Palmer went 4-2 that year.

Europe has won the last three times in the Ryder Cup, and tension typically runs high as soon as its players arrive at the golf course.