He was the first to win a million dollars in prize money and four Augusta Masters. Arnold Palmer was an outstanding golfer and, above all, very popular. His great charisma made him one of the most famous sportsmen in the United States and had a decisive influence on the great growth of golf in that country. He is gone forever at the age of 87 after a life full of success and recognition from the entire golf world.
Also known as The King or simply Arnie, this charismatic player was born on September 10, 1929 in Youngstown, Pennsylvania, United States. He started in the world of golf when he was only 3 years old by the hand of his father, who was a greenkeeper. Soon the fruits of his enviable expertise with the golf clubs were seen and as an amateur he won five West Penn Amateur Championships. Despite his splendid projection in the sport, he gave up golf for several years when he decided to enlist in the U.S. Coast Guard. He returned to competitive golf in the early 1950s.
In 1954 he won his most important amateur victory, the U.S. Championship. It was clear to him where his future career was headed and only five months later he became a professional golfer.
After a couple of seasons of settlement in the Tour, 1957 was his first great season, as he achieved, by adding four, the highest number of victories. The following year would come Arnold Palmer’s first Grand Slam victory, when he won the Masters at Augusta, a tournament he would win on three more occasions (1960, 1962 and 1964).
His aggressive game, his characteristic swing and his Hollywood actor look soon made him a media star. His charisma and attractiveness for television in the early years when this new media was beginning to become popular led to a huge development of golf and a great increase in the earnings of professional golfers.
The 1960 season was especially favorable for him, as he won eight tournaments, including two majors, the Masters at Augusta and the US Open. The 1962 season would also be a special year for Palmer, as he again won eight competitions, including two majors, this time the Masters and the British Open, a tournament he had won for the first time the previous season. As could not be otherwise, Palmer was named PGA Tour Player of the Year in 1960 and 1962.
Throughout his long and successful career as a professional golfer, The King won seven majors, concentrated between 1958 and 1964: four Masters (he was the first to win four times that tournament), two British Opens and a U.S. Open.
Between 1957 and 1963, Palmer led the American Tour win list five times and the winnings ranking four times.
In 1968 he had become the first golfer to win more than $1 million in prize money in tournaments on the Professional Golf Association Tour, the U.S. Tour.
His last great year on the US Tour was 1971, a season in which he won five tournaments. The last of his 62 major professional victories came in 1973, although his popularity never waned among fans of the sport.
In 1980 he joined the Senior Tour and again his charismatic presence helped to popularize that circuit. Success would come soon, as in his first season he won the U.S. Championship and the following year he won the U.S. Senior Open. In total he won ten tournaments on the Senior Tour.
His Ryder Cup experience was twofold, as he was a player on seven occasions and captain on two, the last in 1975.
Palmer was able to maintain his popularity thanks to the advertising of commercial products and established himself in the business world with his own company, Arnold Palmer Enterprises, an emporium that included golf academies and companies that organized tournaments, golf course management, sports equipment and clothing. He was the co-founder of The Golf Channel. His prolific business activity made him one of the wealthiest sportsmen in the world.
Among the many sporting merit awards he received throughout his life, he was elected, in 1974, to the World Golf Hall of Fame.
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