Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Arnold Palmer

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Arnold Daniel Palmer

Arnold Palmer.
(click to enlarge)
Arnold Palmer. (credit: Courtesy, Arnold Palmer Enterprises; photograph, Eiko Oizumi)
(born Sept. 10, 1929, Latrobe, Pa., U.S.) U.S. golfer. The son of a greenskeeper, Palmer turned professional in 1954 after winning the U.S. Amateur championship. He was the first player to win the Masters Tournament four times (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964); his other major titles include the U.S. Open (1960) and the British Open (1961 – 62). From 1954 through 1975 he won 61 tournaments. He won the PGA Senior Open in 1980 and 1981. He was the first golfer to earn $1,000,000 in tournament prize money. His exciting play and amiable personality won him wide popularity among fans, who became known as "Arnie's Army." Palmer was also the first athlete to parlay success on the playing field into lucrative off-the-field contracts, and thus he paved the way for athletes who followed to earn substantial sums from endorsement contracts.

For more information on Arnold Daniel Palmer, visit Britannica.com.

Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
Biography: Arnold Daniel Palmer
Top

Arnold Palmer (born 1929) amassed 92 golf championships in professional competition of national or international stature by the end of 1994. Sixty-one of the victories came on the U.S. PGA Tour. He was the first person to make $1 million playing golf.

Golf legend Arnold Palmer displayed unquestionable skill on the course, but even more importantly, he had much charisma. He almost singlehandedly brought golf out of the elite country clubs and into the consciousness of mainstream America. Throughout his career, Palmer attracted legions of fans - known collectively as "Arnie's Army" - who hung on his every shot, celebrating his successes along with him, and suffering his failures. Even in the twilight of his career, with failures on the links far outnumbering successes, Arnie's Army remained as loyal as ever.

Arnold Palmer was born in Youngstown, Pennsylvania, and grew up in nearby Latrobe, an industrial town not far from Pittsburgh. His family had lived in the area since the early 1800s. Palmer's father, Milfred "Deacon" Palmer, worked at the Latrobe Country Club for more than 40 years, working his way up from grounds keeper to teaching pro. "Deac," as he was called, gave Arnold his first set of golf clubs when he was three years old. Arnold learned the fundamentals of the game on Latrobe's nine-hole course, which he would sneak onto at every opportunity. By the time he was eight, he was playing regularly with the older boys who worked as caddies at the course, and he became a caddie himself at the age of 11.

Attended Wake Forest

Palmer starting winning tournaments while he was still in high school. While starring for the Latrobe High School golf team, he lost only one match in four years. He also won three Western Pennsylvania Junior championships and three Western Pennsylvania Amateur titles during his high school days. During his senior year, Palmer met Bud Worsham, whose brother Lew was a professional golfer. At Worsham's urging, Palmer accepted a golf scholarship to Wake Forest College in North Carolina. He enrolled at Wake Forest in 1947, and quickly began winning, or coming close to winning, every amateur and intercollegiate tournament in sight.

During Palmer's senior year in college, his best friend and roommate, Bud Worsham, was killed in a car accident. Shaken by Worsham's death, Palmer left school and joined the Coast Guard, where he served for three years. In 1954 Palmer began selling painting supplies for a Cleveland company to support his participation in amateur golf. His victory in the National Amateur championship that year prompted Palmer to begin contemplating the idea of turning professional, making golf a job rather than an expensive and time-consuming hobby. In November of 1954 he turned pro and signed a sponsorship contract with the Wilson Sporting Goods Company. About a month later, he married Winnie Walzer, whom he had met while playing in an amateur tournament and proposed to three days later.

In 1955 Palmer won his first important professional tournament, the Canadian Open, earning $2, 400, his first big golf paycheck. He captured three tournaments the following year, and in 1957 took four more. He earned nearly $28, 000 that year, making him the number five moneywinner on the tour. Palmer won three tournaments during each of the next two seasons. One of his 1958 victories was the prestigious Masters, a tournament held annually in Augusta, Georgia. 1960 was the pivotal year in Palmer's golf career. Before the 1960 season was over, Arnold Palmer would become a household name, and was well on his way to becoming the most popular golfer ever to play on the professional circuit.

1960 Victories Brought Fame

Two spectacular come-from-behind wins in major tournaments cemented Palmer's reputation as a gambler who was never out of contention. In the 1960 Masters, Palmer birdied the final two holes to steal a certain victory from rival Ken Venturi. At the time, golf was just beginning to receive regular television coverage, and Palmer's good looks, combined with his dramatic performance on the course, instantly made him a national hero. Palmer mounted an even more astonishing comeback in the 1960 U.S. Open in Denver, where he scored a 65 in the final round to win the tournament from seven strokes - and 14 players - out of the lead. His fans began to believe that he was never too far behind to win. Palmer's style was an aggressive one. He hit the ball hard, with an awkward-looking swing that often left him careening off-balance, much to the delight of the weekend hacks in the audience whose own swings it resembled.

Those two stunning 1960 victories, along with seven other wins that year, established Palmer as the golden boy of golf. Tournament victories continued to come in droves over the next few years. Wins in major tournaments included the British Open in 1961 and 1962, and the Masters in 1962 and 1964. His galleries became so big that they became an annoyance to fellow players. His fans would stampede to the next fairway before the other players in his group had finished out the hole. They sometimes went so far as to heckle Palmer's opponents, especially archrival Jack Nicklaus. Each of Palmer's trademark mannerisms utterly mesmerized Arnie's Army - the way he hitched up his sagging pants, pitched his half-smoked cigarettes onto the grass, and grimaced at every missed putt.

Palmer quickly became not only the game's biggest star, but one of the nation's biggest celebrities. Never in the past were ordinary people drawn to a golf champion the way they were to Palmer. He became the most sought after person in the world for product endorsements. As his popularity grew, so did his interests outside of golf. Palmer became an avid pilot, and flew his own private jet to tournaments. He also dabbled in television and movie acting, and produced his own golf show. He became an author as well, churning out a new golf book every few years. As money rolled in from both golf and endorsements, Palmer became the richest athlete in the world, with a financial empire that spanned the golf equipment, clothing, printing, insurance, dry cleaning, and investment industries. His companies had branches in Australia, Japan, and Europe. Including earnings from his various businesses, Palmer's income soared to more than $1 million a year.

Named Athlete of the Decade

Although he continued to win the occasional tournament through the rest of the decade, the 1964 Masters was Palmer's last victory in a major event. Dry periods became more frequent and lasted longer. At times, it seemed as if his involvement in business was distracting him from golf. He sold several of his businesses off to the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in the mid-1960s, but kept an active role in managing them. In 1969 Palmer was forced to withdraw from the PGA championship because of a hip injury, leading many people to believe that his brilliant career was at an end. After taking several months off to recuperate, however, he came back to win the last two events of the season. After another lengthy drought that lasted for most of the 1970 season - during which the Associated Press named him Athlete of the Decade - Palmer won the 1971 Bob Hope Desert Classic and three other tournaments that year.

Palmer won a couple of minor PGA titles during the 1970s, but overall his play was erratic. His Army, on the other hand, remained huge and loyal. In 1980 Palmer entered the Senior PGA tour, and enjoyed a bit of a career revival. He won the first Senior tournament he ever entered, the 1980 PGA Seniors championship. He also captured the 1981 United States Golf Association (USGA) Senior Open, and took the PGA Seniors again in 1984. In 1985 Palmer won the Senior Tournament Players Championship by 11 strokes, the largest margin of victory ever produced in that event. His last victory on the Senior tour was the 1988 Crestar Classic.

Palmer continued to play regularly, though inconsistently, in the 1990s. In 1994 he made his final appearance at the U.S. Open, fittingly located in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, just a few miles from his hometown. As Palmer finished his final round, the thunderous ovation of his Army brought him to tears. A similarly emotional scene accompanied his last appearance at the British Open in 1995. Fellow players, who call Palmer "the King, " realize that the great sums of money they are paid to play the game they love exist largely because of the efforts and charisma of Arnold Palmer. As current golf star Nick Faldo said during Palmer's farewell performance at the British, "If there had been no Arnold Palmer in 1960 … it might have been a little shed on the beach instead of these salubrious surroundings. You cannot say what the man has done for the game. It's everything."

Palmer has received countless honors, earning virtually every national award in golf. After his great 1960 season, he won both the Hickock Athlete of the Year and Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year trophies. He is a charter member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, the American Golf Hall of Fame, and the PGA Hall of Fame. He is chairman of the USGA Member Program and served as Honorary National Chairman of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation for 20 years. He played a major role in the fund-raising drive that created the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women in Orlando. A long-time member of the Board of Directors of Latrobe Area Hospital, he established an annual fund-raising golf event for the institution in 1992.

Arnold Palmer underwent surgery for prostate cancer in January of 1997.

Further Reading

McCormack, Mark H., Arnie: The Evolution of a Legend, Simon and Schuster, 1967.

Arnold Palmer's Biography, "http://www.sportsline.com/u/fans/celebrity/palmer/bio.htm," July 22, 1997.

Condon, Robert J., The Fifty Finest Athletes of the 20th Century, McFarland and Company, 1990, pp. 112-114.

Dorman, Larry, "An Army Bids Palmer One Last Cheerio at Open, " in New York Times Biographical Service, July 1995, pp. 1058-1059.

Reilly, Rick, "Arnold Palmer, " in Sports Illustrated, September 19, 1994, p. 70.

Grimsley, Will, editor, The Sports Immortals, Prentice Hall, 1972, pp. 306-311.

Seitz, Nick, Superstars of Golf, Golf Digest, 1978.

Quotes By: Arnold Palmer
Top

Quotes:

"You know you're getting old when all the names in your black book have M. D. after them."

"Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you."

"Concentration, Confidence, Competitive urge, Capacity for enjoyment."

"I've always made a total effort, even when the odds seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying; I never felt that I didn't have a chance to win."

"It is not a dreamlike state, but the somehow insulated state, that a great musician achieves in a great performance. He's aware of where he is and what he's doing, but his mind is on the playing of the instrument with an internal sense of rightness -- it is not merely mechanical, it is not only spiritual; it is something of both, on a different plane and a more remote one."

"I never quit trying. I never felt that I didn't have a chance to win."

See more famous quotes by Arnold Palmer

Wikipedia: Arnold Palmer
Top
Arnold Palmer
YN3ArnoldPalmer.jpg
Personal information
Full name Arnold Daniel Palmer
Nickname The King
Born September 10, 1929 (1929-09-10) (age 80)
Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Nationality  United States
Residence Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Orlando, Florida
Career
College Wake Forest University
Turned professional 1954
Current tour(s) PGA Tour (joined 1955)
Champions Tour (joined 1980)
Professional wins 94
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 62 (5th all time)
Champions Tour 10
Best results in Major Championships
(Wins: 7)
The Masters Won: 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964
U.S. Open Won: 1960
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
Bob Jones Award 1971
Old Tom Morris Award 1983
PGA Tour Lifetime
Achievement Award
1998
Payne Stewart Award 2000

Arnold Daniel Palmer (born September 10, 1929) is an American 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 star of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s. He was part of golf's "Big Three" along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player who are widely credited with popularizing 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.

Contents

Career outline

Palmer, while enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1953

Palmer was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He learned golf from his father Deacon Palmer, who was head professional and greenkeeper at Latrobe Country Club, allowing young Arnold to accompany his father as he maintained the course.[1] At age seven, Palmer broke 70 at Bent Creek Country Club.[citation needed] 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 death of close friend Bud Worsham, and enlisted in the Coast Guard, where he served for three years and had some time to continue to hone his golf skills. 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. With the help of his unfailing[peacock term] personality and lucrative business ventures, Arnold Palmer has almost single-handedly[peacock term] brought golf out of the elite country clubs and into the consciousness of mainstream America.[citation needed]

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.[2]

Palmer is also credited by many for securing the status of The Open Championship (British Open) among US 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, 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:

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 and Gary Player had both 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.

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 twenty-one 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-laden 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.

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. Since 1971 he has owned Latrobe Country Club, where his father used to be the club professional.

In 2000, Palmer was ranked the sixth greatest player of all time in Golf Digest magazine's rankings.[6]

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.[7]

He now resides near his golf course, Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Country Club and Lodge, in Orlando, Florida.

Miscellaneous

  • Palmer is a major contributor to health and wellness, founding both the Arnold Palmer Pavilion at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, Florida. The Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children is a world-class medical facility, which was originally known as the "Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women." In 2006 a new campus was built adjacent to the original building, the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, named after his wife Winnie, creating separate pediatric and obstetrics hospitals.
  • Palmer is a 33° freemason.[1]
  • Palmer is an aircraft pilot and bought the first Cessna Citation X. He set a speed record with that aircraft on a 5000m closed course.[8]
  • Palmer was the first man in golf to win $1 million in career earnings.(see 1963 in the Timeline of Golf History 1945 - 1999)
  • The 1960 Masters Tournament, originally broadcast in black and white and recorded on kinescope was re-broadcast on CBS, Sunday, April 8, 2007, one hour before the final round of the 2007 Masters Tournament. The documentary, Jim Nantz Remembers marked the first time a major sports event had been re-broadcast using colorization. It included additional commentary by Arnold Palmer. The broadcast was shown to Arnold Palmer at the Bel-Air Golf Club in February, 2007. It was the first time Arnold had ever seen the broadcast and with the latest and most sophisticated colorization technology of Legend Films, the colorization matched perfectly the color reference material for the entire round.[2] and [3]
  • Palmer's birthday was used in Season 3 of MacGyver (Episode: Lost Love II). Peter Thornton liked golf and had set the passcode to the Mink Dragon exhibit to be Arnold Palmer's birthday, 9-10-29.
  • Currently, Arnold Palmer is a member at Oakland Hills Country Club, the host of the 2008 PGA Championship.
  • In the spring of 2008 Arnie & Jack was released. The book chronicles the careers and rivalry of Arnold Palmer and longtime friend Jack Nicklaus.[9]
  • One of Palmer's favorite drinks 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) [4]
  • A street in the Brier Creek Country Club located in Raleigh/Morrisville, North Carolina, is named after him. The street boasts upscale homes, with some with tax values over 1 million dollars.
  • Oak Valley, a development in Advance, NC has an Arnold Palmer golf course and one of the more exclusive housing areas is called Palmer's Ridge and the street is Arnold Palmer Dr. This is located not far from Wake Forest Univ.
  • Palmer Hall, a freshman dormitory on the campus of Wake Forest University is named in honor of Arnold Palmer
  • He supports Scottish soccer club Rangers.[10]
  • Arnold Palmer also owns two Cadillac dealerships in the Charlotte, North Carolina area.
  • Provided his name to the collegiate golf event known as the Palmer Cup.

Amateur wins (2)

  • 1953 Evergreen Pitch and Putt Invitational
  • 1954 U.S. Amateur

Professional wins (94)

PGA Tour wins (62)

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 United States Jack Burke, Jr.
2 Jul 1, 1956 Insurance City Open -10 (66-69-68-71=274) Playoff United States Ted Kroll
3 Jul 29, 1956 Eastern Open -11 (70-66-69-72=277) 2 strokes United States Dow Finsterwald
4 Feb 25, 1957 Houston Open -9 (67-72-71-69=279) 1 stroke United States Doug Ford
5 Mar 31, 1957 Azalea Open Invitational -6 (70-67-70-75=282) 1 stroke United States Dow Finsterwald
6 Jun 9, 1957 Rubber City Open Invitational -12 (71-66-67-68=272) Playoff United States Doug Ford
7 Oct 30, 1957 San Diego Open Invitational -17 (65-68-68-70=271) 1 stroke Canada Al Balding
8 Oct 20, 1958 St. Petersburg Open Invitational -12 (70-69-72-65=276) 1 stroke Canada Al Balding, United States Dow Finsterwald
9 Apr 6, 1958 The Masters -4 (70-73-68-73=284) 1 strokes United States Doug Ford, United States Fred Hawkins
10 Jun 29, 1958 Pepsi Championship -11 (66-69-67-71=273) 5 strokes United States Jay Hebert
11 Jan 25, 1959 Thunderbird Invitational -18 (67-70-67-62=266) Playoff United States Jimmy Demaret, United States Ken Venturi
12 May 11, 1959 Oklahoma City Open Invitational -15 (73-64-67-69=273) 2 strokes United States Bob Goalby
13 Nov 29, 1959 West Palm Beach Open Invitational -7 (72-67-66-76=281) Playoff United States Gay Brewer, United States Pete Cooper
14 Feb 7, 1960 Palm Springs Desert Golf Classic -22 (67-73-67-66-65=338) 3 strokes United States Fred Hawkins
15 Feb 28, 1960 Texas Open Invitational -12 (69-65-67-75=276) 2 strokes United States Doug Ford, United States Frank Stranahan
16 Mar 6, 1960 Baton Rouge Open Invitational -9 (71-71-69-68=279) 7 strokes United States Jay Hebert, United States Ron Reif,
United States Doug Sanders
17 Mar 13, 1960 Pensacola Open Invitational -15 (68-65-73-67=273) 1 strokes United States Doug Sanders
18 Apr 10, 1960 The Masters -6 (67-73-72-70=282) 1 stroke United States Ken Venturi
19 Jun 18, 1960 U.S. Open -4 (72-71-72-65=280) 2 strokes United States Jack Nicklaus
20 Aug 7, 1960 Insurance City Open Invitational -14 (70-68-66-66=270) Playoff United States Bill Collins, United States Jack Fleck
21 Nov 27, 1960 Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational -14 (68-67-74-65=274) 2 strokes United States Johnny Pott
22 Jan 15, 1961 San Diego Open Invitational -17 (69-68-69-65=271) Playoff Canada Al Balding
23 Feb 12, 1961 Phoenix Open Invitational -14 (69-65-66-70=270) Playoff United States Doug Sanders
24 Feb 26, 1961 Baton Rouge Open Invitational -22 (65-67-68-66=266) 7 strokes United States Wes Ellis
25 Apr 30, 1961 Texas Open Invitational -10 (67-63-72-68=270) 1 stroke Canada Al Balding
26 Jun 25, 1961 Western Open -13 (65-70-67-69=271) 2 strokes United States Sam Snead
27 Jul 14, 1961 The Open Championship -4 (70-73-69-72=284) 1 stroke Wales Dai Rees
28 Feb 4, 1962 Palm Springs Golf Classic -18 (69-67-66-71-69=342) 3 strokes United States Jay Hebert, United States Gene Littler
29 Feb 11, 1962 Phoenix Open Invitational -15 (64-68-71-66=269) 12 strokes United States Billy Casper, United States Don Fairfield,
United States Bob McCallister
30 Apr 9, 1962 The Masters -8 (70-66-69-75-68=280) Playoff United States Dow Finsterwald, South Africa Gary Player
31 Apr 29, 1962 Texas Open Invitational -1 (72-70-72-69=273) 1 stroke United States Joe Campbell, United States Gene Littler,
United States Mason Rudolph, United States Doug Sanders
32 May 6, 1962 Tournament of Champions -12 (69-70-69-68=276) 1 stroke United States Billy Casper
33 May 13, 1962 Colonial National Invitation +1 (67-72-66-76=281) Playoff United States Johnny Pott
34 Jul 13, 1962 The Open Championship -12 (71-69-67-69=276) 6 strokes Australia Kel Nagle
35 Aug 12, 1962 American Golf Classic -4 (67-69-70-70=276) 5 strokes United States Mason Rudolph
36 Jan 7, 1963 Los Angeles Open -10 (69-69-70-66=274) 3 strokes Canada Al Balding, South Africa Gary Player
37 Feb 12, 1963 Phoenix Open Invitational -11 (68-67-68-70=273) 1 stroke South Africa Gary Player
38 Mar 10, 1963 Pensacola Open Invitational -15 (69-68-69-67=273) 2 strokes ? Harold Kneece, South Africa Gary Player
39 Jun 16, 1963 Thunderbird Classic Invitational -11 (67-70-68-72=277) Playoff United States Paul Harney
40 Jul 1, 1963 Cleveland Open Invitational -9 (68-73-65-73=279) Playoff United States Tommy Aaron, United States Tony Lema
41 Jul 29, 1963 Western Open -11 (71-68-66-68=273) Playoff United States Julius Boros, United States Jack Nicklaus
42 Oct 6, 1963 Whitemarsh Open Invitational -7 (70-71-66-74=281) 1 stroke United States Lionel Hebert
43 Apr 12, 1964 The Masters -12 (69-68-69-70=276) 6 strokes United States Dave Marr, United States Jack Nicklaus
44 May 18, 1964 Oklahoma City Open Invitational -11 (72-69-69-67=277) 2 strokes United States Lionel Hebert
45 Apr 25, 1965 Tournament of Champions -11 (66-69-71-71=277) 3 strokes Puerto Rico Chi Chi Rodriguez
46 Jan 31, 1966 Los Angeles Open -11 (72-66-62-73=273) 3 strokes United States Miller Barber, United States Paul Harney
47 Apr 18, 1966 Tournament of Champions -5 (74-70-70-69=283) Playoff United States Gay Brewer
48 Nov 20, 1966 Houston Champions International -9 (70-68-68-69=275) 1 stroke United States Gardner Dickinson
49 Jan 29, 1967 Los Angeles Open -2 (70-64-67-68=269) 5 strokes United States Gay Brewer
50 Feb 19, 1967 Tucson Open Invitational -15 (66-67-67-73=273) 1 stroke United States Chuck Courtney
51 Aug 13, 1967 American Golf Classic -4 (70-67-72-67=276) 3 stroke United States Doug Sanders
52 Sep 24, 1967 Thunderbird Classic -5 (71-71-72-69=283) 1 stroke United States Charles Coody, United States Jack Nicklaus,
United States Art Wall, Jr.
53 Feb 14, 1968 Bob Hope Desert Classic -12 (72-70-67-71-68=348) Playoff United States Deane Beman
54 Sep 15, 1968 Kemper Open -12 (69-70-70-67=276) 4 strokes Australia Bruce Crampton, United States Art Wall, Jr.
55 Nov 30, 1969 Heritage Golf Classic -1 (68-71-70-74=283) 3 strokes United States Dick Crawford, United States Bert Yancey
56 Dec 7, 1969 Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic -18 (68-67-70-65-270) 2 strokes United States Gay Brewer
57 Jul 26, 1970 National Four-Ball Championship
PGA Players
(with United States Jack Nicklaus)
-25 (61-67-64-67=259) 3 strokes Australia Bruce Crampton & United States Orville Moody,
United States Gardner Dickinson & United States Sam Snead,
United States George Archer & United States Bobby Nichols
58 Feb 14, 1971 Bob Hope Desert Classic -18 (67-71-66-68-70=342) Playoff United States Raymond Floyd
59 Mar 14, 1971 Florida Citrus Invitational -18 (66-68-68-68=270) 1 stroke United States Julius Boros
60 Jul 25, 1971 Westchester Classic -18 (64-70-68-68=270) 5 strokes United States Gibby Gilbert, United States Hale Irwin
61 Aug 1, 1971 National Team Championship
(with United States Jack Nicklaus)
-27 (62-64-65-66=257) 6 strokes United States Julius Boros & United States Bill Collins,
New Zealand Bob Charles & Australia Bruce Devlin
62 Feb 11, 1973 Bob Hope Desert Classic -17 (71-66-69-68-69=343) 2 strokes United States Jack Nicklaus, United States Johnny Miller

Other wins (17)

Senior PGA Tour wins (10)

Senior majors are shown in bold.

Other senior wins (5)

Major Championships

Wins (7)

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

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

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.

Summary of major championship performances

  • Starts - 142
  • Wins - 7
  • 2nd place finishes - 10
  • Top 3 finishes - 19
  • Top 5 finishes - 26
  • Top 10 finishes - 38
  • Longest streak of top-10s in majors - 6

See also

References

  1. ^ The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations, Foreword by Arnold Palmer. 2007.
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ http://www.augusta.com/stories/2009/04/10/mas_518006.shtml
  4. ^ 'Arnie's Army' Gets Last Look at Legend New York Times, October 14, 2006
  5. ^ Arnold Palmer: Memories, Stories, and Memorabilia from a Life on and Off the Course, By Arnold Palmer. page 73.
  6. ^ Yocom, Guy (July 2000). "50 Greatest Golfers of All Time: And What They Taught Us". Golf Digest. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HFI/is_7_51/ai_63015233. Retrieved 2007-12-05. 
  7. ^ Golf Digest, "Palmer in his Prime," September 2009
  8. ^ A Golfers Life, By Arnold Palmer. 1999. pg. 332.
  9. ^ O'Connor, Ian. Arnie & Jack: Palmer, Nicklaus and Golf's Greatest Rivalry. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 2008.
  10. ^ http://www.rangersloyal.co.uk/famousfans.html

Barkow, Al (1989), The History of the PGA TOUR, Doubleday, ISBN 0-385-26145-4 

External links

Preceded by
Ingemar Johansson
Hickok Belt Winner
1960
Succeeded by
Roger Maris

Shopping: Arnold Palmer
Top
 
 

 

Copyrights:

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Biography. © 2006 through a partnership of Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Quotes By. Copyright © 2008 QuotationsBook.com. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Arnold Palmer" Read more