Arnold Palmer

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This article is about the golfer Arnold Palmer. The name can also refer to "Arnold Palmer Airport", a Pittsburgh secondary airport named in his honor, as well as the drink named in his honor (see Arnold Palmer (drink)).

Arnold Palmer

Personal Information
Birth	September 10, 1929 (age 77) Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Latrobe, Pennsylvania Orlando, Florida
College	Wake Forest University
Career
Turned Pro	1954
Tours	PGA Tour (joined 1955) Champions Tour (joined 1980)
Professional wins	95, PGA Tour: 62, Other regular: 18 Champions Tour: 10, Other senior: 5
Major Championship results Wins: 7
Masters	Won 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964
U.S. Open	Won 1960
British Open	Won 1961, 1962
PGA Championship	T2: 1964, 1968, 1970
Awards
PGA Tour Money Winner	1958, 1960, 1962, 1963
PGA Player of the Year	1960, 1962

Arnold Daniel Palmer (born September 10, 1929) is an American golfer who has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955. Nicknamed "The King," Arnold was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Palmer is not generally regarded as the greatest player in the history of men's professional golf, but he is arguably golf's most popular star and its most important trailblazer because he was the first star of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s.

Palmer won the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, and has been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Contents 1 Career outline 2 Major Championships 2.1 Wins (7) 2.2 Results timeline 3 PGA Tour wins (62) 4 Other regular career wins (18) 5 Senior PGA Tour wins (10) 6 Other senior wins (5) 7 Miscellanea 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Career outline

Palmer learned golf from his father, who was a golf professional at Latrobe Country Club. At age seven, Palmer broke 70 at Bent Creek Country Club. As a youngster, Palmer was only allowed on the Latrobe course (it was just nine holes then) in early morning or late afternoon, when the members weren't playing. He attended Wake Forest University, on a golf scholarship. He left upon the tragic death of close friend Bubby Worsham, and enlisted in the Coast Guard. Palmer gathered himself, and returned to competitive golf. His win in the 1954 U.S. Amateur Championship made him decide to try the pro tour for a while, and he and new bride Winifred Walzer (whom he had met at a Pennsylvania tournament) traveled the circuit for 1955. Palmer won the 1955 Canadian Open in his rookie season, and raised his game systematically for the next several seasons.

Palmer's charisma was a major factor in establishing golf as a compelling television event in the 1950s and 1960s, setting the stage for the popularity it enjoys today. His first major championship win at the 1958 Masters cemented his position as one of the leading stars in golf, and by 1960 he had signed up as pioneering sports agent Mark McCormack's first client. In later interviews, McCormack listed five attributes that made Palmer especially marketable: his good looks; his relatively modest background (his father was a greenkeeper before rising to be club professional and Latrobe was a humble club); the way he played golf, taking risks and wearing his emotions on his sleeve; his involvement in a string of exciting finishes in early televised tournaments; and his affability.^[1]

Palmer is also credited by many for securing the status of The Open Championship (British Open) among US players. Before Palmer, relatively few American professionals attempted to play The Open due to its travel requirements, foreign environment, and the style of its links courses (radically different from most American courses). Palmer's successive Open wins in the early 1960s convinced many American pros that a trip to Britain would be worth the effort. Of course, the advent of transatlantic air travel by jet at about that time also contributed greatly to making The Open a more attractive tournament for American pros.

He has won seven major championships:

• The Masters: 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964
• U.S. Open: 1960
• The Open Championship: 1961, 1962

Palmer's most prolific years were 1960-1963, when he won 29 PGA Tour events in four seasons. In 1960, he won the Hickok Belt as the top professional athlete of the year and Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award. He built up a wide fan base, often referred to as "Arnie's Army", and in 1967 he became the first man to reach one million dollars in career earnings on the PGA Tour. By the late 1960s Jack Nicklaus had acquired clear ascendancy in their rivalry, but Palmer won a PGA Tour event every year up to 1970, and in 1971 he enjoyed a revival, winning four events.

Palmer won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average four times: 1961, 1962, 1964, and 1967. He played on six Ryder Cup teams: 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1971, and 1973. He was the last playing-captain in 1963 and captained the team again in 1975.

Palmer was eligible for the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour) from its first season in 1980, and he was one of the marquee names who helped it to become successful. He won ten events on the tour, including five senior majors.

Palmer won the first World Match Play Championship in England, an event which was originally organised by McCormack to showcase his stable of players. Their partnership was one of the most significant in the history of sports marketing. Long after he ceased to win tournaments, Palmer remained one of the highest earners in golf due to his appeal to sponsors and the public.

In 2004, he competed in The Masters for the last time, marking his 50th consecutive appearance in that event. After missing the cut at the 2005 U.S. Senior Open by twenty-one shots he announced that he would not enter any more senior majors. He retired from tournament golf on October 13 2006, when he withdrew from the Champions Tours' Administaff Small Business Classic after four holes due to dissatisfaction with his own play. He played the remaining holes but did not keep score.^[2]Palmer's legacy was reaffirmed by an electrifying moment during the 2004 Bay Hill Invitational. Standing over 200 yards from the water-laden 18th green, Palmer, who is known for his aggresive play, lashed his second shot onto the green with a driver. The shot thrilled his loyal gallery and energized the excitable Palmer. He turned to his grandson and caddie, Sam Saunders, and gave him a prolonged shimmy and playful jeering in celebration of the moment.

Palmer has had a diverse golf related business career including owning "Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club and Lodge", which is the venue for the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational (renamed from the Bay Hill Invitational effective 2007), helping to found The Golf Channel, and negotiating the deal to build the first golf course in the People's Republic of China. Since 1971 he has owned Latrobe Country Club, where his father used to be the club professional.

[edit] Major Championships

[edit] Wins (7)

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runners Up
1958	The Masters	Tied for lead	-4 (70-73-68-73=284)	1 stroke	Doug Ford, Fred Hawkins
1960	The Masters (2)	1 shot lead	-6 (67-73-72-70=282)	1 stroke	Ken Venturi
1960	U.S. Open	7 shot deficit	-4 (72-71-72-65=280)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
1961	The Open Championship	1 shot lead	-8 (70-73-69-72=284)	1 stroke	Dai Rees
1962	The Masters (3)	2 shot lead	-8 (70-66-69-75=280)	Playoff 1	Gary Player, Dow Finsterwald
1962	The Open Championship (2)	5 shot lead	-12 (71-69-67-69=276)	6 strokes	Kel Nagle
1964	The Masters (4)	5 shot lead	-12 (69-68-69-70=276)	6 strokes	Dave Marr, Jack Nicklaus

¹ Defeated Gary Player & Dow Finsterwald in 18-hole playoff - Palmer (68), Player (71), Finsterwald (77)

[edit] Results timeline

Tournament	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
The Masters	DNP	DNP	T10	21	T7	1	3
U.S. Open	CUT	CUT	T21	7	CUT	T23	T5
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T40	T14

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
The Masters	1	T2	1	T9	1	T2	T4	4	CUT	27
U.S. Open	1	T14	2	2	T5	CUT	2	2	59	T6
The Open Championship	2	1	1	T26	DNP	16	T8	DNP	T10	DNP
PGA Championship	T7	T5	T17	T40	T2	T33	T6	T14	T2	WD

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
The Masters	T36	T18	T33	T24	T11	T13	CUT	T24	T37	CUT
U.S. Open	T54	T24	3	T4	T5	T9	T50	T19	CUT	T59
The Open Championship	12	DNP	T7	T14	DNP	T16	T55	7	T34	DNP
PGA Championship	T2	T18	T16	CUT	T28	T33	T15	T19	CUT	CUT

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
The Masters	T24	CUT	47	T36	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	63	CUT	CUT	T60	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	T23	T27	T56	CUT	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	CUT
PGA Championship	T72	76	CUT	T67	CUT	T65	CUT	T65	CUT	T63

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
The Masters	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
The Masters	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

[edit] PGA Tour wins (62)

• 1955 (1) Canadian Open
• 1956 (2) Insurance City Open, Eastern Open
• 1957 (4) Houston Open, Azalea Open Invitational, Rubber City Open Invitational, San Diego Open Invitational
• 1958 (3) St. Petersburg Open Invitational, The Masters, Pepsi Championship
• 1959 (3) Thunderbird Invitational, Oklahoma City Open Invitational, West Palm Beach Open Invitational
• 1960 (8) Palm Springs Desert Golf Classic, Texas Open Invitational, Baton Rouge Open Invitational, Pensacola Open Invitational, The Masters, U.S. Open, Insurance City Open Invitational, Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational
• 1961 (6) San Diego Open Invitational, Phoenix Open Invitational, Baton Rouge Open Invitational, Texas Open Invitational, Western Open, The Open Championship
• 1962 (8) Palm Springs Golf Classic, Phoenix Open Invitational, The Masters, Texas Open Invitational, Tournament of Champions, Colonial National Invitation, The Open Championship, American Golf Classic
• 1963 (7) Los Angeles Open, Phoenix Open Invitational, Pensacola Open Invitational, Thunderbird Classic Invitational, Cleveland Open Invitational, Western Open, Whitemarsh Open Invitational
• 1964 (2) The Masters, Oklahoma City Open Invitational
• 1965 (1) Tournament of Champions
• 1966 (3) Los Angeles Open, Tournament of Champions, Houston Champions International
• 1967 (4) Los Angeles Open, Tucson Open Invitational, American Golf Classic, Thunderbird Classic
• 1968 (2) Bob Hope Desert Classic, Kemper Open
• 1969 (2) Heritage Golf Classic, Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic
• 1970 (1) National Four-Ball Championship (with Jack Nicklaus)
• 1971 (4) Bob Hope Desert Classic, Florida Citrus Invitational, Westchester Classic, National Team Championship (with Jack Nicklaus)
• 1973 (1) Bob Hope Desert Classic

Major championships are shown in bold.

[edit] Other regular career wins (18)

• 1954 U.S. Amateur
• 1955 Panama Open, Colombia Open
• 1960 Canada Cup (with Sam Snead)
• 1962 Canada Cup (with Sam Snead)
• 1963 Australian Wills Masters Tournament, Canada Cup (with Jack Nicklaus)
• 1964 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship (England, but not a European Tour event at that time), Canada Cup (with Jack Nicklaus)
• 1966 Australian Open, Canada Cup (with Jack Nicklaus), PGA Team Championship (with Jack Nicklaus)
• 1967 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship (England, but not a European Tour event at that time), World Cup (team with Jack Nicklaus and Will Roar)
• 1971 Lancome Trophy (France, but not a European Tour event at that time)
• 1975 Spanish Open (European Tour), Penfold PGA Championship (European Tour)
• 1980 Canadian PGA Championship

[edit] Senior PGA Tour wins (10)

• 1980 (1) PGA Seniors' Championship
• 1981 (1) U.S. Senior Open
• 1982 (2) Marlboro Classic, Denver Post Champions of Golf
• 1983 (1) Boca Grove Classic
• 1984 (3) General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship, Senior Tournament Players Championship, Quadel Senior Classic
• 1985 (1) Senior Tournament Players Championship
• 1988 (1) Crestar Classic

Senior majors are shown in bold.

[edit] Other senior wins (5)

• 1984 Doug Sanders Celebrity Pro-Am
• 1986 Union Mutual Classic
• 1990 Senior Skins Game
• 1992 Senior Skins Game
• 1993 Senior Skins Game

[edit] Miscellanea

• Palmer was one of the founders of The Golf Channel.
• The Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, Florida is a world-class medical facility named after Palmer. Originally the "Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women", in 2006 a new campus was built adjacent, the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, named after his wife Winnie, creating separate pediatric and obstetrics hospitals.
• One of Palmer's favorite drinks allegedly is a combination of half iced tea and half lemonade, a drink which is often referred to as an "Arnold Palmer" in his honor. It is now available under the name "The Original Arnold Palmer Tee" (sic)
• Palmer also has a favorite sandwich he called a Saturday, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with one side refrigerated and the side with peanut butter toasted. The toasted bread is usually wheat bread while the refrigerated piece of bread is typically potato bread.[1]
• Palmer is a 33° freemason.
• He is an aircraft pilot and bought the first Cessna Citation X. He set a speed record with that aircraft on a 5000km closed course.
• He was the first man in golf to win $1 million in career earnings.
• He was friends with Fred Rogers aka. Mr. Rogers in high school.
• He served as Wake Forest's honorary team captain for coin toss at the FedEx Orange Bowl on January 2, 2007.
• He supports afl team richmond
• He also follows Scottish soccer team Glasgow Rangers

[edit] See also

• Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• Golfers with most major championship wins
• Most PGA Tour wins in a year
• Longest PGA Tour win streaks
• Most wins in one PGA Tour event
• Golfers with most Champions Tour wins
• Golfers with most Champions Tour major championship wins
• Big Three

[edit] References

1. ^ The Wicked Game: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and the Story of Modern Golf, page 55. Howard Sounes, 2004. ISBN 0-06-051386-1
2. ^ 'Arnie's Army' Gets Last Look at Legend New York Times, October 14 2006

[edit] External links

• arnoldpalmer.com - a portal to many separate sites about Palmer's businesses, sponsors and other interests
• Profile on the PGA Tour's official site
• Arnold Palmer Profile at Golflegends