At ease with both presidents and the golfing public, and on a first-name basis with both, “The King” died Sunday in Pittsburgh.
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Golf legend Arnold Palmer died Sunday, aged 87.
Generations of golfers, from world-class pros to weekend hackers, owe Palmer a debt of gratitude.
Golf legend Jack Nicklaus called Palmer “the everyday man’s hero”, saying, “From the modest upbringing, Arnold embodied the hard-working strength of America”.
The PGA Tour Player of the Year in 1960 and 1962, Palmer won seven Major titles (the Masters in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1963, the U.S. Open in 1960 and the Open Championship in 1961 and 1962).
More on this as it develops. After a three-year stint in the Coast Guard, Palmer moved to Cleveland where he sold paint for a living.
Palmer was born on September 10, 1929, in Latrobe, a small industrial town east of Pittsburgh. He signed every autograph, making sure it was legible.
Many credit Palmer with inventing golf as a televised sport, becoming the game’s first well-known star by helping to put a name and face to the game.
Palmer joined the PGA Tour in 1955 and won the Canadian Open for the first of his 62 titles.
He earned his pilot’s license in 1951 to get over his fear of flying, and flew his own plane, later a series of private jets, for more than 50 years.
Nicklaus tweeted that he was “shocked to hear that we lost a great friend”.
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Palmer’s combination of matinee-idol looks, charisma and blue-collar background made him a superstar just as golf ushered in the television era. They had two daughters, and grandson Sam Saunders plays on the PGA Tour. Among other accomplishments, he was a recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the two highest civilian awards given in the United States. “I’ve got sex written all over my face”, Palmer once said. In 2005, he married Kit Gawthrop.
