Arnold Palmer biography
Arnold Palmer, in full Arnold Daniel Palmer, (born September 10, 1929, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died September 25, 2016, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), American golfer who used an unorthodox swing and an aggressive strategy to turn into one among golf’s most profitable and well-liked stars from the late Fifties by means of the mid-Nineteen Sixties. He was the primary to win the Masters Tournament 4 instances (1958, 1960, 1962, and 1964) and the primary (in 1968) to earn $1 million in match prize cash. During his skilled profession (1954–2006), he gained 92 tournaments, 62 of which have been on the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) Tour. As a number one determine in world golf, he attracted an enormous following often known as Arnie’s Army.
Palmer, who grew up in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, gained the Pennsylvania state high-school golf championship twice earlier than attending Wake Forest University on a golf scholarship. After quitting college in 1950, he served within the U.S. Coast Guard. He returned to Wake Forest in 1954 however left once more after successful the U.S. Amateur Championship. He earned his first skilled victory on the 1955 Canadian Open. In 1958 he gained his first Masters Tournament and positioned first on the official earnings record for the PGA Tour. Two years later he emerged as a sports activities celebrity, successful eight tournaments, typically in dramatic vogue. At the Masters he birdied the final two holes to win by a single stroke, and on the U.S. Open he entered the ultimate spherical in fifteenth place however birdied six of the primary seven holes en path to victory.
Palmer’s success continued in 1961 as he recorded six victories, together with a win on the British Open (Open Championship). In 1962 he prevailed within the first three-way playoff in Masters historical past to win his third championship at Augusta. That similar 12 months Palmer captured his second consecutive British Open—with a four-round complete of 276, which was two strokes higher than the match’s earlier document. In 1964 he gained his fourth Masters Tournament—with a four-round complete of 276, the second lowest rating within the Masters as much as that point. He gained 4 Vardon Trophies for lowest scoring common (1961, 1962, 1964, and 1967), and he was a member of six Ryder Cup groups (1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1971, and 1973). Palmer joined the Senior PGA Tour (later renamed the PGA Tour Champions) on its founding in 1980, and he retired from aggressive golf in 2006.
An astute businessman, he served as president of the extremely profitable Arnold Palmer Enterprises and was nationwide spokesman for a number of firms. Palmer additionally based a golf-course-design firm. He wrote numerous books, both autobiographical or involved with the strategies of golf, together with Play Great Golf: Mastering the Fundamentals of Your Game (1987), A Golfer’s Life (1999; cowritten with James Dodson), and Arnold Palmer: Memories, Stories, and Memorabilia from a Life on and off the Course (2004). Palmer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004. He additionally wrote Britannica’s entry on the Masters Tournament.