Arnold Palmer

By Carrie Jean Duncan
Communications Intern

The definition of a legend is one who is famous and admired for a particular skill or talent. Arnold Palmer is the very essence of this definition, but in more ways than one. Palmer, who turned professional in 1954, amassed 92 championships in professional competition of national or international stature, 62 of which were PGA TOUR victories. He earned the title of leading money winner four times.

While his professional status is matched by the likes of Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, his personal appeal to the masses is unparalled. His charisma and unfailing sense of kindness and thoughtfulness to everyone he comes in contact with led to the largest following of a non-uniformed “military” – Arnie’s Army.

Palmer learned to love the game of golf in Latrobe, Pa., where he was born on Sept. 10, 1929. Latrobe, a small industrial town in Western Pennsylvania, is still home to Palmer in the warmer months of the year. His father, Deacon, was the professional at Latrobe C.C., and the Palmer’s lived on the golf course. Young Arnold was surrounded by golf and dreamed of someday playing golf for a living.

In high school, Palmer dominated the game in Western Pennsylvania and twice won Pennsylvania's high school championship. He then went on to Wake Forest University, where he became the No. 1 man on the golf team and one of the leading collegiate players of that time. However, when his close friend and classmate, Bud Worsham (younger brother of 1947 U.S. Open Champion Lew Worsham) died, he withdrew from college and began a three-year stint in the Coast Guard.

His interest in golf was revived while stationed in Cleveland. After winning the U.S. Amateur in 1954 – the victory that to this day remains his favorite – Palmer’s dream of playing for a living became a reality.

His most magical golf was displayed in 1960, a year he won eight official events. At the Masters, he birdied the final two holes to beat Ken Venturi by one stroke. Then, two months later at the U.S. Open at Cherry Hills, he began the final round on Saturday seven strokes and 14 players behind. But Palmer came from behind with a 65 to win by two. The Palmer “charge” was born, and for the next two years, he was nearly unbeatable.

In 1963, Palmer became the first player to win more than $100,000 in a season. He played on six Ryder Cup teams and was the winning captain twice. Throughout his personal, club and business ventures, he has been the recipient of countless awards and trophies, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded by President George W. Bush at a White House ceremony.

Today, Palmer’s interests are as large as his heart. He is president and sole owner (since 1971) of Latrobe Country Club and president and principal owner of the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, in Orlando, Fla., where the AJGA hosts HP Boys Junior Championship. In addition, he is a consultant to The Golf Channel and makes his mark on more than 200 golf courses through the Palmer Course Design Company. With all his travel, Palmer’s love for aviation is met in his piloting of his Cessna Citation X jet aircraft.

Palmer’s interests also extend to several charitable foundations. He became a strong advocate of programs supporting cancer research and early detection after seeing his first wife, Winifred Walzer, die of cancer in 1999. In 1997, Palmer had his own personal battle with prostate cancer. Palmer always dreamed of building a cancer center in his hometown to make the latest cancer therapies and treatments convenient to those within neighboring communities. In July 2002, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and the Latrobe Area Hospital announced the new UPMC Cancer Center in Latrobe and named it the Arnold Palmer Pavilion. He also began the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children & Women on the Orlando Regional Healthcare campus. The center is the only hospital in the southeast United States dedicated solely to serving the special needs of women and children. The hospital also features the Arnold Palmer Heart Institute.

“Some people think of me as just plain lucky, and I can’t argue with them,” Palmer once said. “I would like to say, however, that a man might be walking around lucky and not know it unless he tries.”

Palmer might be lucky with his talent on the golf course, but we are lucky to have him on our side. While there is no questioning his mark on the game, his outside interests are where the world has seen his magic and his power as the leader of Arnie’s Army.