Arnold Palmer
Palmer in 1953
Personal information
Full name	Arnold Daniel Palmer
Nickname	The King
Born	(1929-09-10) September 10, 1929 (age 82) Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Latrobe, Pennsylvania Orlando, Florida
Spouse	Winifred Walzer (m. 1954-1999) Kathleen Gawthrop (m. 2005)
Career
College	Wake Forest University
Turned professional	1954
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	95
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	62 (5th all time)
European Tour	2
PGA Tour of Australasia	2
Champions Tour	10
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 7)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964
U.S. Open	Won: 1960
The Open Championship	Won: 1961, 1962
PGA Championship	T2: 1964, 1968, 1970
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1974 (member page)
PGA Tour leading money winner	1958, 1960, 1962, 1963
PGA Player of the Year	1960, 1962
Vardon Trophy	1961, 1962, 1964, 1967
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year	1960
Bob Jones Award	1971
Old Tom Morris Award	1983
PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award	1998
Payne Stewart Award	2000
Presidential Medal of Freedom	2004
Congressional Gold Medal	2009

Another photo of Palmer in the United States Coast Guard

Arnold Daniel Palmer (born September 10, 1929) is an American professional golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men's professional golf. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955. Nicknamed "The King," he is one of golf's most popular stars and its most important trailblazer, because he was the first superstar of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s. He is part of "The Big Three" in golf, along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, who are widely credited with popularizing and commercialising the sport around the world.

Palmer won the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, and in 1974 was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Career outline[link]

Early life[link]

Palmer was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He learned golf from his father, Deacon Palmer, who was head professional and greenskeeper at Latrobe Country Club, allowing young Arnold to accompany his father as he maintained the course.^[1] He attended Wake Forest University, on a golf scholarship. He left upon the death of close friend Bud Worsham and enlisted in the United States Coast Guard, where he served for three years and had some time to continue to hone his golf skills. Palmer returned to college and competitive golf. His win in the 1954 U.S. Amateur 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.

Rise to superstardom[link]

Palmer won the 1955 Canadian Open in his rookie season, and raised his game status 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 Tournament 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 greenskeeper 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.^[2]

Palmer is also credited by many for securing the status of The Open Championship (British Open) among U.S. players. After Ben Hogan won that championship in 1953, few American professionals had travelled to play in The Open, due to its travel requirements, relatively small prize purses, and the style of its links courses (radically different from most American courses). Palmer was convinced by his business partner Mark McCormack that success in the Open -– to emulate the feats of Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Sam Snead and Hogan before him –- would truly make him a global sporting star, not simply a leading American golfer. In particular, Palmer travelled to Scotland in 1960, having already won both the Masters and U.S. Open, to try to emulate Hogan's feat of 1953, of winning all three in a single year. He failed, losing out to Kel Nagle by a single shot, but his subsequent Open wins in the early 1960s convinced many American pros that a trip to Britain would be worth the effort, and certainly secured Palmer's popularity among British and European fans, not just American ones.

Palmer 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, including five major tournament victories, 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 and Gary Player had both acquired clear ascendancy in their rivalry, but Palmer won a PGA Tour event every year from 1955 to 1971 inclusive, 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 organized 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.

Palmer gives President Bush golf tips before being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom

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 21 shots, he announced that he would not enter any more senior majors. Since 2007, Palmer has served as the honorary starter for the Masters.^[3] 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.^[4] Palmer's legacy was reaffirmed by an electrifying moment during the 2004 Bay Hill Invitational. Standing over 200 yards from the water-guarded 18th green, Palmer, who is known for his aggressive 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.

Golf businesses[link]

Palmer has had a diverse golf-related business career, including owning the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, which is the venue for the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational (renamed from the Bay Hill Invitational in 2007), helping to found The Golf Channel,^[5] and negotiating the deal to build the first golf course in the People's Republic of China. This led to the formation of Palmer Course Design in 1972, which was renamed Arnold Palmer Design Company when the company moved to Orlando Florida in 2006. Palmer's design partner was Ed Seay. The Palmer-Seay team has designed over 200 courses around the world. Since 1971 he has owned Latrobe Country Club, where his father used to be the club professional. The licensing, endorsements, spokesman associations and commercial partnerships built by Palmer and McCormack are managed by Arnold Palmer Enterprises.

One of Arnold Palmer's most recent products is a branded use of the beverage which combines sweet iced tea with lemonade. ^[6]

Legacy[link]

In 2000, Palmer was ranked the sixth greatest player of all time in Golf Digest magazine's rankings.^[7]

According to Golf Digest, Palmer made $1,861,857 in 734 PGA Tour career starts over 53 years; he earned an estimated $30 million off the course in 2008.^[8]

Palmer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.^[9] He was the first golfer to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the second golfer, after Byron Nelson, to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

In addition to Palmer's impressive list of awards, he has been bestowed the honor of kicking off the Masters Tournament since 2007. From 2007 to 2009, Palmer was the sole honorary starter. In 2010, longtime friend and competitor Jack Nicklaus was appointed by Augusta National to join Palmer.^[10] In 2012, golf's The Big Three reunited as South African golfer Gary Player joined for the ceremonial tee shots as honorary starters for the 76th playing of the Masters Tournament.^[11]

Personal[link]

Palmer now resides near his golf course, Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Country Club and Lodge, in Orlando, Florida which was originally designed by Dick Wilson.

Palmer's grandson, Sam Saunders, is a professional golfer. Saunders grew up playing at Bay Hill, and won the Club Championship there at age 15. He attended Clemson University on a golf scholarship and turned pro in 2008. Saunders stated that Palmer's family nickname is "Dumpy".^[12]

An avid pilot for over 50 years, Palmer thought he would pilot a plane for the last time on January 31, 2011. He flew from Palm Springs, California to Orlando, Florida in his Cessna Citation X.^[13] His pilot's medical certificate expired that day and he chose not to renew it. However, public FAA records show he was issued a new third class medical in May 2011.

Amateur wins (26)[link]

• 1946 WPIAL Championship, PIAA Championship
• 1947 WPIAL Championship, PIAA Championship, Western Pennsylvania Junior, Western Pennsylvania Amateur
• 1948 Southern Conference Championship, Sunnehanna Invitational, Western Pennsylvania Junior
• 1950 Southern Intercollegiate, Western Pennsylvania Amateur, Greensburg Invitational
• 1951 Western Pennsylvania Amateur, Worsharn Memorial
• 1952 Western Pennsylvania Amateur, Greensburg Invitational
• 1953 Ohio Amateur, Cleveland Amateur, Greensburg Invitational, Mayfield Heights Open, Evergreen Pitch and Putt Invitational
• 1954 U.S. Amateur, Ohio Amateur, All-American Amateur, Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, Bill Waite Memorial

Amateur major wins (1)[link]

Year	Championship	Winning Score	Runner-up
1954	U.S. Amateur	1 up	Robert Sweeny Jr.

Results timeline[link]

DNP = Did not play
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Source:^[14]

Professional wins (95)[link]

PGA Tour wins (62)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Aug 20, 1955	Canadian Open	-23 (64–67–64–70=265)	4 strokes	Jack Burke, Jr.
2	Jul 1, 1956	Insurance City Open	-10 (66–69–68–71=274)	Playoff	Ted Kroll
3	Jul 29, 1956	Eastern Open	-11 (70–66–69–72=277)	2 strokes	Dow Finsterwald
4	Feb 25, 1957	Houston Open	-9 (67–72–71–69=279)	1 stroke	Doug Ford
5	Mar 31, 1957	Azalea Open Invitational	-6 (70–67–70–75=282)	1 stroke	Dow Finsterwald
6	Jun 9, 1957	Rubber City Open Invitational	-12 (71–66–67–68=272)	Playoff	Doug Ford
7	Oct 30, 1957	San Diego Open Invitational	-17 (65–68–68–70=271)	1 stroke	Al Balding
8	Oct 20, 1958	St. Petersburg Open Invitational	-12 (70–69–72–65=276)	1 stroke	Al Balding, Dow Finsterwald
9	Apr 6, 1958	Masters Tournament	-4 (70–73–68–73=284)	1 stroke	Doug Ford, Fred Hawkins
10	Jun 29, 1958	Pepsi Championship	-11 (66–69–67–71=273)	5 strokes	Jay Hebert
11	Jan 25, 1959	Thunderbird Invitational	-18 (67–70–67–62=266)	Playoff	Jimmy Demaret, Ken Venturi
12	May 11, 1959	Oklahoma City Open Invitational	-15 (73–64–67–69=273)	2 strokes	Bob Goalby
13	Nov 29, 1959	West Palm Beach Open Invitational	-7 (72–67–66–76=281)	Playoff	Gay Brewer, Pete Cooper
14	Feb 7, 1960	Palm Springs Desert Golf Classic	-22 (67–73–67–66–65=338)	3 strokes	Fred Hawkins
15	Feb 28, 1960	Texas Open Invitational	-12 (69–65–67–75=276)	2 strokes	Doug Ford, Frank Stranahan
16	Mar 6, 1960	Baton Rouge Open Invitational	-9 (71–71–69–68=279)	7 strokes	Jay Hebert, Ron Reif, Doug Sanders
17	Mar 13, 1960	Pensacola Open Invitational	-15 (68–65–73–67=273)	1 stroke	Doug Sanders
18	Apr 10, 1960	Masters Tournament	-6 (67–73–72–70=282)	1 stroke	Ken Venturi
19	Jun 18, 1960	U.S. Open	-4 (72–71–72–65=280)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
20	Aug 7, 1960	Insurance City Open Invitational	-14 (70–68–66–66=270)	Playoff	Bill Collins, Jack Fleck
21	Nov 27, 1960	Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational	-14 (68–67–74–65=274)	2 strokes	Johnny Pott
22	Jan 15, 1961	San Diego Open Invitational	-17 (69–68–69–65=271)	Playoff	Al Balding
23	Feb 12, 1961	Phoenix Open Invitational	-14 (69–65–66–70=270)	Playoff	Doug Sanders
24	Feb 26, 1961	Baton Rouge Open Invitational	-22 (65–67–68–66=266)	7 strokes	Wes Ellis
25	Apr 30, 1961	Texas Open Invitational	-10 (67–63–72–68=270)	1 stroke	Al Balding
26	Jun 25, 1961	Western Open	-13 (65–70–67–69=271)	2 strokes	Sam Snead
27	Jul 14, 1961	The Open Championship	-4 (70–73–69–72=284)	1 stroke	Dai Rees
28	Feb 4, 1962	Palm Springs Golf Classic	-18 (69–67–66–71–69=342)	3 strokes	Jay Hebert, Gene Littler
29	Feb 11, 1962	Phoenix Open Invitational	-15 (64–68–71–66=269)	12 strokes	Billy Casper, Don Fairfield, Bob McCallister
30	Apr 9, 1962	Masters Tournament	-8 (70–66–69–75–68=280)	Playoff	Dow Finsterwald, Gary Player
31	Apr 29, 1962	Texas Open Invitational	-1 (72–70–72–69=273)	1 stroke	Joe Campbell, Gene Littler, Mason Rudolph, Doug Sanders
32	May 6, 1962	Tournament of Champions	-12 (69–70–69–68=276)	1 stroke	Billy Casper
33	May 13, 1962	Colonial National Invitation	+1 (67–72–66–76=281)	Playoff	Johnny Pott
34	Jul 13, 1962	The Open Championship	-12 (71–69–67–69=276)	6 strokes	Kel Nagle
35	Aug 12, 1962	American Golf Classic	-4 (67–69–70–70=276)	5 strokes	Mason Rudolph
36	Jan 7, 1963	Los Angeles Open	-10 (69–69–70–66=274)	3 strokes	Al Balding, Gary Player
37	Feb 12, 1963	Phoenix Open Invitational	-11 (68–67–68–70=273)	1 stroke	Gary Player
38	Mar 10, 1963	Pensacola Open Invitational	-15 (69–68–69–67=273)	2 strokes	Harold Kneece, Gary Player
39	Jun 16, 1963	Thunderbird Classic Invitational	-11 (67–70–68–72=277)	Playoff	Paul Harney
40	Jul 1, 1963	Cleveland Open Invitational	-9 (68–73–65–73=279)	Playoff	Tommy Aaron, Tony Lema
41	Jul 29, 1963	Western Open	-11 (71–68–66–68=273)	Playoff	Julius Boros, Jack Nicklaus
42	Oct 6, 1963	Whitemarsh Open Invitational	-7 (70–71–66–74=281)	1 stroke	Lionel Hebert
43	Apr 12, 1964	Masters Tournament	-12 (69–68–69–70=276)	6 strokes	Dave Marr, Jack Nicklaus
44	May 18, 1964	Oklahoma City Open Invitational	-11 (72–69–69–67=277)	2 strokes	Lionel Hebert
45	Apr 25, 1965	Tournament of Champions	-11 (66–69–71–71=277)	3 strokes	Chi Chi Rodriguez
46	Jan 31, 1966	Los Angeles Open	-11 (72–66–62–73=273)	3 strokes	Miller Barber, Paul Harney
47	Apr 18, 1966	Tournament of Champions	-5 (74–70–70–69=283)	Playoff	Gay Brewer
48	Nov 20, 1966	Houston Champions International	-9 (70–68–68–69=275)	1 stroke	Gardner Dickinson
49	Jan 29, 1967	Los Angeles Open	-2 (70–64–67–68=269)	5 strokes	Gay Brewer
50	Feb 19, 1967	Tucson Open Invitational	-15 (66–67–67–73=273)	1 stroke	Chuck Courtney
51	Aug 13, 1967	American Golf Classic	-4 (70–67–72–67=276)	3 stroke	Doug Sanders
52	Sep 24, 1967	Thunderbird Classic	-5 (71–71–72–69=283)	1 stroke	Charles Coody, Jack Nicklaus, Art Wall, Jr.
53	Feb 14, 1968	Bob Hope Desert Classic	-12 (72–70–67–71–68=348)	Playoff	Deane Beman
54	Sep 15, 1968	Kemper Open	-12 (69–70–70–67=276)	4 strokes	Bruce Crampton, Art Wall, Jr.
55	Nov 30, 1969	Heritage Golf Classic	-1 (68–71–70–74=283)	3 strokes	Dick Crawford, Bert Yancey
56	Dec 7, 1969	Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic	-18 (68-67-70-65-270)	2 strokes	Gay Brewer
57	Jul 26, 1970	National Four-Ball Championship PGA Players (with Jack Nicklaus)	-25 (61–67–64–67=259)	3 strokes	Bruce Crampton & Orville Moody, Gardner Dickinson & Sam Snead, George Archer & Bobby Nichols
58	Feb 14, 1971	Bob Hope Desert Classic	-18 (67–71–66–68–70=342)	Playoff	Raymond Floyd
59	Mar 14, 1971	Florida Citrus Invitational	-18 (66–68–68–68=270)	1 stroke	Julius Boros
60	Jul 25, 1971	Westchester Classic	-18 (64–70–68–68=270)	5 strokes	Gibby Gilbert, Hale Irwin
61	Aug 1, 1971	National Team Championship (with Jack Nicklaus)	-27 (62–64–65–66=257)	6 strokes	Julius Boros & Bill Collins, Bob Charles & Bruce Devlin
62	Feb 11, 1973	Bob Hope Desert Classic	-17 (71–66–69–68–69=343)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller