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Arnold Palmer

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

This article is about the golfer Arnold Palmer. The name can also refer to "Arnold Palmer Airport", a Pittsburgh secondary airport named in his honor, as well as the drink named in his honor (see Arnold Palmer (drink)).

Arnold Daniel Palmer (born September 10, 1929) is an American golfer who has won numerous events on both the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955. He was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Palmer is not generally regarded as the greatest player in the history of men's professional golf, but he is arguably golf's most popular star and its most important trailblazer because he was the first star of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s.

Contents

[edit] Career outline

Palmer learned golf from his father, who was a golf professional at Latrobe Country Club. At age seven, Palmer broke 70 at Bent Creek Country Club. 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 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. [1]

Palmer is also credited by many securing the status of The Open Championship (British Open) among US players. Before Palmer, relatively few American professionals attempted to play The Open due to its travel requirements, foreign environment, and the style of its links courses (radically different from most American courses). Palmer's successive Open wins in the early 1960s convinced many American pros that a trip to Britain would be worth the effort. Of course, the advent of transatlantic air travel by jet at about that time also contributed greatly to making The Open a more attractive tournament for American pros.

He has 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 had 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.

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. 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. [2]

Palmer has had a diverse golf related business career including owning "Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club and Lodge", which is the venue for the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational (renamed from the Bay Hill Invitational effective 2007), helping to found The Golf Channel, and negotiating the deal to build the first golf course in the People's Republic of China. Since 1971 he has owned Latrobe Country Club, where his father used to be the club professional.

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

[edit] Major Championships

[edit] Wins (7)

Year Championship 54 Holes Winning Score Margin of Victory Runners Up
1958 Masters Tied for lead -4 (70-73-68-73=284) 1 stroke United States Doug Ford, United States Fred Hawkins
1960 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 Masters (3) 2 shot lead -8 (70-66-69-75=280) Playoff 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 Masters (4) 5 shot lead -12 (69-68-69-70=276) 6 strokes United States Dave Marr, United States Jack Nicklaus

[edit] 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

[edit] PGA Tour wins (62)

  • 1955 (1) Canadian Open
  • 1956 (2) Insurance City Open, Eastern Open
  • 1957 (4) Houston Open, Azalea Open Invitational, Rubber City Open Invitational, San Diego Open Invitational
  • 1958 (3) St. Petersburg Open Invitational, The Masters, Pepsi Championship
  • 1959 (3) Thunderbird Invitational, Oklahoma City Open Invitational, West Palm Beach Open Invitational
  • 1960 (8) Palm Springs Desert Golf Classic, Texas Open Invitational, Baton Rouge Open Invitational, Pensacola Open Invitational, The Masters, U.S. Open, Insurance City Open Invitational, Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational
  • 1961 (6) San Diego Open Invitational, Phoenix Open Invitational, Baton Rouge Open Invitational, Texas Open Invitational, Western Open, The Open Championship
  • 1962 (8) Palm Springs Golf Classic, Phoenix Open Invitational, The Masters, Texas Open Invitational, Tournament of Champions, Colonial National Invitation, The Open Championship, American Golf Classic
  • 1963 (7) Los Angeles Open, Phoenix Open Invitational, Pensacola Open Invitational, Thunderbird Classic Invitational, Cleveland Open Invitational, Western Open, Whitemarsh Open Invitational
  • 1964 (2) The Masters, Oklahoma City Open Invitational
  • 1965 (1) Tournament of Champions
  • 1966 (3) Los Angeles Open, Tournament of Champions, Houston Champions International
  • 1967 (4) Los Angeles Open, Tucson Open Invitational, American Golf Classic, Thunderbird Classic
  • 1968 (2) Bob Hope Desert Classic, Kemper Open
  • 1969 (2) Heritage Golf Classic, Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic
  • 1970 (1) National Four-Ball Championship (with Jack Nicklaus)
  • 1971 (4) Bob Hope Desert Classic, Florida Citrus Invitational, Westchester Classic, National Team Championship (with Jack Nicklaus)
  • 1973 (1) Bob Hope Desert Classic

Major championships are shown in bold.

[edit] Other regular career wins (18)

  • 1954 U.S. Amateur
  • 1955 Panama Open, Colombia Open
  • 1960 Canada Cup (with Sam Snead)
  • 1962 Canada Cup (with Sam Snead)
  • 1963 Australian Wills Masters Tournament, Canada Cup (with Jack Nicklaus)
  • 1964 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship (England, but not a European Tour event at that time), Canada Cup (with Jack Nicklaus)
  • 1966 Australian Open, Canada Cup (with Jack Nicklaus), PGA Team Championship (with Jack Nicklaus)
  • 1967 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship (England, but not a European Tour event at that time), World Cup (team with Jack Nicklaus and Will Roar)
  • 1971 Lancome Trophy (Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, France, but not a European Tour event at that time)
  • 1975 Spanish Open (European Tour), Penfold PGA Championship (European Tour)
  • 1980 Canadian PGA Championship

[edit] Senior PGA Tour wins (10)

  • 1980 (1) PGA Seniors' Championship
  • 1981 (1) U.S. Senior Open
  • 1982 (2) Marlboro Classic, Denver Post Champions of Golf
  • 1983 (1) Boca Grove Classic
  • 1984 (3) General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship, Senior Tournament Players Championship, Quadel Senior Classic
  • 1985 (1) Senior Tournament Players Championship
  • 1988 (1) Crestar Classic

Senior majors are shown in bold.

[edit] Other senior wins (5)

  • 1984 Doug Sanders Celebrity Pro-Am
  • 1986 Union Mutual Classic
  • 1990 Senior Skins Game
  • 1992 Senior Skins Game
  • 1993 Senior Skins Game

[edit] Miscellanea

  • Palmer was one of the founders of The Golf Channel.
  • The Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women in Orlando, Florida is a world-class medical facility named after Palmer.
  • One of Palmer's favorite drinks allegedly 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)
  • Palmer also has a favorite sandwich he called a Saturday, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with one side refrigerated and the side with peanut butter toasted. The toasted bread is usually wheat bread while the refrigerated piece of bread is typically potato bread.

[1]

  • Palmer is a 33° freemason.
  • He is an aircraft pilot and bought the first Cessna Citation X. He set a speed record with that aircraft on a 5000km closed course.
  • He was golf's first million dollar winner.
  • Supports Scottish football team Glasgow Rangers.
  • He was friends with Fred Rogers aka. Mr. Rogers in high school.

[edit] See also

  • Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
  • Golfers with most major championship wins
  • Most PGA Tour wins in a year
  • Golfers with most Champions Tour major championship wins
  • Big Three

[edit] References

  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ 'Arnie's Army' Gets Last Look at Legend New York Times, October 14 2006

[edit] External links


Citation Help

APA Style: Reference List

Encyclopedia Jr (2007). Arnold palmer. Retrieved May 24, 2012, from http://www.encyclopediajr.com/wikiarticle/a/r/n/arnold_palmer.

MLA Style: Works Cited Page

"Arnold palmer." Encyclopedia Jr. 2007. 24 May 2012 <http://www.encyclopediajr.com/wikiarticle/a/r/n/arnold_palmer>.


This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article arnold_palmer.


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