Arnold Palmer

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Lore & Background

Palmer's social impact on golf was unrivaled among fellow professionals. He, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player were "The Big Three" in golf during the 1960s, credited with popularizing and commercializing the sport around the world. Palmer's charisma was a major factor in establishing golf as a compelling television event in the 1950s and 1960s. His fan base, often referred to as "Arnie's Army," was built on his risk-taking style and emotional displays. In 1960, he signed with pioneering sports agent Mark McCormack as his first client. McCormack listed five attributes that made Palmer especially marketable: his handsomeness; his modest background (his father was a greenskeeper before rising to be club professional at Latrobe, a humble club); the way he played golf, taking risks and wearing his emotions on his sleeve; his involvement in exciting finishes in early televised tournaments; and his affability. Palmer is also credited for securing the status of The Open Championship among U.S. players. His appearance in the 1960 British Open drew American attention to the championship, and his subsequent Open wins in 1961 and 1962 convinced many American pros that a trip to Britain would be worth the effort.

In Their Own Story

Palmer's first tour win came during his 1955 rookie season, when he won the Canadian Open and earned $2,400. He won his first major championship at the 1958 Masters Tournament, earning $11,250, which established his position as a leading star. In 1960, he traveled to Scotland to compete in the British Open for the first time, having already won both the Masters and U.S. Open that year, trying to emulate Ben Hogan's 1953 feat of winning all three in a single year. Palmer played what he himself said were the four best rounds of his career, shooting 70-71-70-68. The British excitedly claimed he may well be the greatest golfer ever. Although he failed to win, losing to Kel Nagle by a single shot, his subsequent Open wins in 1961 and 1962 secured his popularity among British and European fans. Palmer was greatly disappointed by that runner-up finish. His most prolific years were 1960–1963, when he won 29 PGA Tour events, including five major tournaments. In 1967, he became the first man to reach $1 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour. In 2004, he competed in the Masters Tournament for the last time, marking his 50th consecutive appearance. He retired from tournament golf on October 13, 2006, withdrawing from a Champions Tour event after four holes due to dissatisfaction with his own play.

Reader's Guide

In a career spanning more than six decades, Palmer won 62 PGA Tour titles from 1955 to 1973. He is fifth on the Tour's all-time victory list, trailing only Sam Snead, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Ben Hogan. He won seven major titles in a six-plus-year domination from the 1958 Masters to the 1964 Masters: the Masters Tournament in 1958, 1960, 1962, and 1964; the U.S. Open in 1960; and The Open Championship in 1961 and 1962. He 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, and was the last playing captain in 1963. On the Senior PGA Tour (now PGA Tour Champions), he won ten events, including five senior majors. He won the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, and in 1974 was one of the 13 original inductees into the World Golf Hall of Fame. From 2007 until his death, Palmer served as an honorary starter for the Masters.

Did You Know?

• Palmer learned golf from his father, who was head professional and greenskeeper at Latrobe Country Club; Palmer himself contracted polio as a child, not his father.
• After winning the 1954 U.S. Amateur, Palmer quit his job selling paint and met his future wife, Winifred Walzer, at the Waite Memorial tournament.
• Palmer served in the U.S. Coast Guard for three years, 1951–1954, and built a nine-hole course at the Training Center in Cape May, New Jersey.
• For his Masters wins in 1958, 1960, and 1962, Palmer's caddie was Nathaniel "Iron Man" Avery, but for his 1964 Masters victory his caddie was Willie 'Pappy' Stokes.
• Palmer designed more than 300 golf courses in 37 states, 25 countries, and five continents, including one of the first golf courses built in China since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

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