Palmer’s grandson looking to stick
Sam Saunders was steamed. He had made triple-bogey on his 17th hole Thursday, and now his approach shot on the final hole sailed long and skidded over the green.
Saunders didn’t notice walking past one spectator, Diane Hurley of Oxnard, wearing a white T-shirt with Arnold Palmer’s likeness on the front. Hurley knew Saunders is Palmer’s grandson, so she wanted to catch a glimpse of the King’s descendant at Silverado Resort.
“That’s how I got into golf,” Hurley said of Palmer. “Who isn’t an Arnie fan?”
She would get no argument from Saunders.
Barely more than one year
after his famous grandfather’s death, Saunders is still trying to carve out his place in the golf world. He didn’t really advance the cause in Thursday’s first round of the Safeway Open, stumbling late to post a 2-overpar 74.
Exactly one week earlier, in the opening round of the Web. com Tour Championship in Atlantic Beach, Fla., Saunders shot 59. He became only the seventh player in Web.com history to break 60; just eight players have done it on the PGA Tour.
Not even Arnold Palmer ever scrawled golf ’s magic number on his scorecard.
“That’s probably the one accomplishment I’ve got that he doesn’t,” Saunders said Thursday, with a thin smile.
Palmer revolutionized golf. He was magnetic and flamboyant, the ideal ambassador to lift the game into the television era while inspiring an army of followers. He died of complications from heart disease in September 2016, at age 87.
Saunders, 30, finds himself stuck in the game’s vast middle class, good enough to keep his job but struggling to break into the upper echelon. He stands at No. 217 in this week’s world ranking, still seeking his first victory after 98 starts on the PGA Tour and 84 more on the Web.com.
The past three years, Saunders has finished 150th, 151st and 141st on the big tour’s money list.
His story, though, stretches beyond all these numbers. He grew up hearing Palmer’s wisdom and watching him treat people with well-known grace. (Saunders’ mom, Amy, is Palmer’s daughter.)
Sam Saunders delivered a moving eulogy at Palmer’s memorial service in Latrobe, Pa. Most memorably, he talked of the way his grandfather always had time to talk.
Palmer typically answered his phone by asking Saunders, “Where are you?” Once, after responding that he was at home, Saunders asked Palmer where he was.
“I’m with the president,” Palmer replied.
Saunders: “The president of what?”
Palmer: “The United States. I’m in the Oval Office.”
Saunders: “Then why are you answering your phone?”
Palmer: “Because I wanted to talk to you.”
As he finished telling the story at Palmer’s service, Saunders said, “He always wanted to talk to me, always wanted to be there for us.”
On Thursday, after his round, Saunders patiently reflected on life as Palmer’s grandson. It’s an impossible-to-avoid subject, given the career Saunders chose and given Palmer’s unparalleled popularity.
Saunders once viewed it as a burden. Not anymore. Now, with his own family — wife, Kelly, and two young kids — he savors the interaction with Arnie-adoring fans, many of whom have offered their support in the 12-plus months since Palmer died.
“It’s been really nice,” Saunders said. “A lot of people wish me well, which is really flattering. I certainly have a little bigger following because of him. I’m always happy to talk to people and hear their Arnold Palmer stories, because everybody’s got one.”
Many doors opened for Saunders because of his connection to Palmer (i.e. sponsor exemptions), but his career has been harder in other ways. Fair or not, he invariably will deal with comparisons to a Hall of Famer who won 62 times on the PGA Tour, including seven majors.
That’s the beauty of golf — it ultimately comes back to your score. Just being Arnold Palmer’s grandson doesn’t lead to more birdies.
“I wish there was some magic in the blood that made you play better,” Saunders said. “Bottom line, you have to put in the work and play well. If you don’t, you’re not going to be out here.”
He’s still out there trying to earn a living, playing the game his grandpa forever changed.