The King

Player Profile: Arnold Palmer

Arnold Daniel Palmer was born on September 10th 1929.  Arnold is known as one of the greatest player's in the history of the game of golf.  Palmer is part of "The Big Three:" Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer.  Before he became a professional golfer Arnold was a Coast Guard for three years.  It wasn't until his win of the 1854 U.S Amateur Championship that gave him the boast to play professional golf.  In his rookie season, 1955 Palmer won the Canadian Open.  Palmer's first Major Championship win came in 1958 where he won the Masters.  In an interview by his agent Mark McCormack he stated:

"There was five attributes that made Palmer especially marketable: his good looks; his relatively modest background (his father was a greens keeper before rising to be club professional); 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."

Some might consider the success of the Open Championship (British Open) to Palmer as it was a decision he made to attend the open to create global awareness of this event.  Palmer went on to win seven major championships.  The biggest years for Palmer were 1960-1963 where he won a total of 29 PGA Tour events.  In 1960 he won the "Hickok Belt" which is the top professional athlete of the year.

Fun Facts about Arnold Palmer

• His fan base called themselves "Arnie's Army"
• He was the first man to reach 1 million dollars in career earnings on the PGA Tour.
• Palmer won a PGA Tour event every year till 1970.
• Palmer won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average four times.
• He played on 6 Ryder Cup Teams
• He was one of the reasons for the senior tours success.
• In 2004 he competed in the Masters for the last time (which was his 50th consecutive appearance)
• Palmer retired from tournament golf on October 13th 2006.
• In 2000 Golf Digest ranked him as the sixth greatest player of all time.