Arnold Palmer Biography

Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 - September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and the circuit now known as PGA Tour Champions. Nicknamed The King, he was one of golf's most popular stars and its most important trailblazer, the first superstar of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s.

Palmer's social impact on behalf of golf was perhaps unrivaled among fellow professionals; his humble background and plain-spoken popularity helped change the perception of golf as an elite, upper-class pastime to a more populist sport accessible to middle and working classes. Palmer was part of "The Big Three" in golf during the 1960s, along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, who are widely credited with popularizing and commercializing the sport around the world.

In a career that spanned more than six decades, he won 62 PGA Tour titles from 1955 to 1973, placing him at that time behind only Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, and still fifth on the Tour's all-time victory list. He collected seven major titles in a six-plus-year domination, from the 1958 Masters to the 1964 Masters. He also 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.

Early life

Palmer was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, a working-class steel mill town, the son of Doris (Morrison) and Milfred Jerome "Deacon" Palmer. He learned golf from his father, who had suffered from polio at a young age and was head professional and greenskeeper at Latrobe Country Club, allowing young Arnold to accompany his father as he maintained the course.

Palmer attended Wake Forest College on a golf scholarship. He left upon the death of close friend Bud Worsham (1929-1950) and enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he served for three years and had some time to continue to hone his golf skills. Palmer returned to college and competitive golf.

By 1954 he was about to turn professional after winning at the U.S. Amateur in Detroit. "That victory was the turning point in my life," he said. "It gave me confidence I could compete at the highest level of the game." When reporters there asked Gene Littler who the young golfer was that was cracking balls on the practice tee, Littler said: "That's Arnold Palmer. He's going to be a great player some day. When he hits the ball, the earth shakes."

After winning that match, Palmer stopped the job he had at the time of selling paint, and played in the Waite Memorial tournament in Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pennsylvania. There, he met his future wife, Winifred Walzer, and they would remain married for 45 years, until her death in 1999.

On November 17, 1954, Palmer announced his intentions to turn pro. "What other people find in poetry, I find in the flight of a good drive," Palmer said.

Career

Palmer's first tour win (in his rookie season) was the 1955 Canadian Open, where he earned $2,400 for his efforts. He raised his game status for the next several seasons. 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 Tournament 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 greenskeeper 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.

Palmer is also credited by many for securing the status of The Open Championship (British Open) among U.S. players. Before Ben Hogan won that championship in 1953, few American professionals had traveled to play in The Open, due to its travel requirements, relatively small prize purses, and the style of its links courses (radically different from most American courses). Palmer wanted to emulate the feats of Bobby Jones, Sam Snead and Hogan before him to become a leading American golfer.

In particular, Palmer traveled to Scotland in 1960, having already won both the Masters and U.S. Open, to try to emulate Hogan's feat of 1953, of winning all three in a single year. Palmer played what he himself called the four best rounds of his career, shooting 71-69-67-69. His scores had the English excitedly claiming that Palmer may well be the greatest golfer ever to play the game. British fans were excited about Palmer's playing in the Open. Although he failed to win, losing out to Kel Nagle by a single shot, his subsequent Open wins in the early 1960s convinced many American pros that a trip to Britain would be worth the effort, and certainly secured Palmer's popularity among British and European fans, not just American ones.

He played his first British Open in 1960, finishing runner-up, which was a great disappointment. But his appearance did at least draw American attention to the Open, which they had previously ignored. But Palmer went on to win the Open in 1961 and 1962, last playing it in 1995. Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the Royal & Ancient, called Palmer "a true gentleman, one of the greatest ever to play the game and a truly iconic figure in sport." His participation in The Open Championship in the early 1960s "was the catalyst to truly internationalize golf," said European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley.

Palmer won seven major championships:

• Masters Tournament: 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964
• U.S. Open: 1960
• The Open Championship: 1961, 1962

Palmer's most prolific years were 1960-1963, when he won 29 PGA Tour events, including five major tournament victories, 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 $1 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour. By the late 1960s Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player had both acquired clear ascendancy in their rivalry, but Palmer won a PGA Tour event every year from 1955 to 1971 inclusive, 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 PGA Tour Champions) 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 organized 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 Tournament for the last time, marking his 50th consecutive appearance in that event. At his death, he was one of two Masters champions, along with Nicklaus, to be regular members of Masters organizer Augusta National Golf Club (as opposed to the honorary membership the club grants to all Masters champions).

From 2007 until his death, Palmer served as an honorary starter for the Masters. 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.

Golf businesses

Palmer has had a diverse golf-related business career, including owning the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida, which is the venue for the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational (renamed from the Bay Hill Invitational in 2007), helping to found The Golf Channel, and negotiating the deal to build the first golf course in the People's Republic of China. This led to the formation of Palmer Course Design in 1972, which was renamed Arnold Palmer Design Company when the company moved to Orlando, Florida, in 2006. Palmer's design partner was Ed Seay.

Palmer designed more than 300 golf courses in 37 states, 25 countries, and five continents (all except Africa and Antarctica), including the first modern course built in China, in 1988. He purchased Latrobe Country Club, where his father used to be the club professional, in 1971 and owned it until his death. The licensing, endorsements, spokesman associations and commercial partnerships built by Palmer and McCormack are managed by Arnold Palmer Enterprises. Palmer was also a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects.

A case was initiated in 1997 by Palmer and fellow golfer Tiger Woods, in an effort to stop the unauthorized sale of their images and alleged signatures in the memorabilia market, against Bruce Matthews, the owner of Gotta Have It Golf, Inc. and others. Matthews and associated parties counter-claimed that Palmer and associated businesses committed several acts, including breach of contract, breach of implied duty of good faith and violations of Florida's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. On March 12, 2014, a Florida jury found in favor of Gotta Have It on its breach of contract and other related claims, rejected Palmer's and Woods's counterclaims, and awarded Gotta Have It $668,346 in damages.

One of Palmer's most recent products (mass-produced starting in 2001) is a branded use of the beverage known as the Arnold Palmer, which combines sweet iced tea with lemonade.

Legacy

"No one did more to popularize the sport than Palmer," according to Adam Schupak of Golf Week. "His dashing presence singlehandedly took golf out of the country clubs and into the mainstream. Quite simply, he made golf cool." Jack Nicklaus said: </ref>}}

In 2000, Palmer was ranked the sixth greatest player of all time in Golf Digest magazine's rankings, and by 2008 had earned an estimated $30 million.

Palmer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009. He was the first golfer to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the second golfer, after Byron Nelson, to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

In addition to Palmer's impressive list of awards, he was bestowed the honor of kicking off the Masters Tournament beginning in 2007. From 2007 to 2009, Palmer was the sole honorary starter. In 2010, longtime friend and competitor Jack Nicklaus was appointed by Augusta National to join Palmer. In 2012, golf's The Big Three reunited as South African golfer Gary Player joined for the ceremonial tee shots as honorary starters for the 76th playing of the Masters Tournament. In describing the effect that Palmer had on the sport, biographer James Dodson stated:

Personal life

Palmer was married to the former Winnie Walzer for 45 years and they had two daughters. She died at age 65 on November 20, 1999, from complications due to ovarian cancer. Palmer married his second wife Kathleen Gawthrop in 2005 in Hawaii.

Palmer's grandson, Sam Saunders (b.1987), is a professional golfer, and grew up playing at Bay Hill, where he won the club championship at age 15. He attended Clemson University in South Carolina on a golf scholarship and turned pro in 2008. Saunders stated that Palmer's family nickname is "Dumpy."

Palmer resided in Latrobe during spring and summer months, and wintered in Orlando and La Quinta, California. He first visited Orlando in 1948 during a college match. His becoming a resident of Orlando helped the city become a recreation destination, "turning the entire state of Florida into a golfing paradise." That included building one of the premier events on the PGA Tour there along with his contributing to new hospitals. Tiger Woods, on hearing about Palmer's death, said "My kids were born at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies, and his philanthropic work will be remembered along with his accomplishments in golf." Arnold Palmer Boulevard is named in his honor.

He was a member of the Freemasons since 1958.

Pilot

An avid pilot for over 50 years, Palmer thought he would pilot a plane for the last time on January 31, 2011, and flew from Palm Springs in California to Orlando in his Cessna Citation X. His pilot's medical certificate expired that day and he chose not to renew it. However, public FAA records show he was issued a new third-class medical in May 2011.

Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe was named for him on his 70th birthday in 1999. According to their website: "[The airport] started as the Longview Flying Field in 1924. It became J.D. Hill Airport in 1928, Latrobe Airport in 1935 and Westmoreland County Airport in 1978. Complimenting a rich history rooted in some of the earliest pioneers of aviation, the name was changed to Arnold Palmer Regional in 1999 to honor the Latrobe native golf legend who grew up less than a mile from the runway where he watched the world's first official airmail pickup in 1939 and later learned to fly himself." There is a statue of Palmer made by Zenos Frudakis, holding a golf club in front of the airport's entrance, unveiled in 2007.

Palmer's early "fear of flying" was what led him to pursue his pilot certificate. After almost 55 years, he logged nearly 20,000 hours of flight time in various aircraft.

Palmer's personal website reads:

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Books

• A Life Well Played: My Stories (2016) ISBN 9781250085948
• Reflections on the Game (2012, with Thomas Hauser. Originally published as Arnold Palmer: A Personal Journey, 1994) ISBN 9780002554688
• Arnold Palmer: Memories, Stories, and Memorabilia from a Life on and off the Course (2004) ISBN 9781584793304
• Playing by the Rules: The Rules of Golf Explained & Illustrated from a Lifetime in the Game (2002) ISBN 9780743450225
• A Golfer's Life (1999, with James Dodson) ISBN 9780345414816
• Arnold Palmer's Complete Book of Putting (1986, with Peter Dobereiner) ISBN 9780689116247
• Arnold Palmer's Best 54 Golf Holes (1977) ISBN 9780385052597
• Go for Broke! My Philosophy of Winning Golf (1973, with William Barry Furlong) ISBN 9780671214784
• 495 Golf Lessons (1973, with Earl Puckett) ISBN 9780695804022
• Golf Tactics (1970) ISBN 9780695804022
• Situation Golf (1970) ISBN 978-0841500235
• My Game and Yours (1965) ISBN 9780671471958

Death

Palmer died on September 25, 2016 at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (Shadyside) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while awaiting heart surgery. He was admitted three days prior to undergo testing on his heart. After his funeral, he was cremated and his ashes were scattered in his hometown at Latrobe Country Club.

Tributes

</ref>}} Palmer's life was also celebrated less than one week after his passing at the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, just outside the Twin Cities, by both teams. The celebration included a video tribute and a moment of silence during the Opening Ceremony, which also included tributes from the opposing captains - Davis Love III for Team USA and Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke for Team Europe - and the opposing honorary captains - Nicklaus for Team USA and England's Tony Jacklin for Team Europe. During the matches, the players paid tribute to Palmer, which included wearing a special logo, button and pin. Palmer's bag from the 1975 Ryder Cup was also placed on the first tee as a tribute. Palmer had won more than 22 Ryder Cup matches and had also captained Team USA to two victories, in addition to holding or being tied for the records for youngest captain, most career singles points and most points in a single Ryder Cup. PGA of America president Derek Sprague stated:

Two days after a 17-11 victory, which marked the first American Ryder Cup triumph since 2008 at Valhalla and which Love dedicated to Palmer, the majority of the team attended the memorial service for Palmer at St. Vincent College in Latrobe and also brought the trophy after Palmer's daughter Amy asked the team if they could do so.

Amateur wins (26)

• 1946 WPIAL Championship, PIAA Championship
• 1947 WPIAL Championship, PIAA Championship, Western Pennsylvania Junior, Western Pennsylvania Amateur
• 1948 Southern Conference Championship, Sunnehanna Invitational, Western Pennsylvania Junior
• 1950 Southern Intercollegiate, Western Pennsylvania Amateur, Greensburg Invitational
• 1951 Western Pennsylvania Amateur, Worsharn Memorial
• 1952 Western Pennsylvania Amateur, Greensburg Invitational
• 1953 Ohio Amateur, Cleveland Amateur, Greensburg Invitational, Mayfield Heights Open, Evergreen Pitch and Putt Invitational
• 1954 U.S. Amateur, Ohio Amateur, All-American Amateur, Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, Bill Waite Memorial

Amateur major wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Runner-up
1954	U.S. Amateur	1 up	Robert Sweeny Jr.

Results timeline

Tournament	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954
U.S. Amateur	R256	R64	R256	DNP	DNP	R16	1

DNP = Did not play
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Source:

Professional wins (95)

PGA Tour wins (62)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Aug 20, 1955	Canadian Open	?23 (64-67-64-70=265)	4 strokes	Jack Burke, Jr.
2	Jul 1, 1956	Insurance City Open	?10 (66-69-68-71=274)	Playoff	Ted Kroll
3	Jul 29, 1956	Eastern Open	?11 (70-66-69-72=277)	2 strokes	Dow Finsterwald
4	Feb 25, 1957	Houston Open	?9 (67-72-71-69=279)	1 stroke	Doug Ford
5	Mar 31, 1957	Azalea Open Invitational	?6 (70-67-70-75=282)	1 stroke	Dow Finsterwald
6	Jun 9, 1957	Rubber City Open Invitational	?12 (71-66-67-68=272)	Playoff	Doug Ford
7	Nov 3, 1957	San Diego Open Invitational	?17 (65-68-68-70=271)	1 stroke	Al Balding
8	Mar 23, 1958	St. Petersburg Open Invitational	?8 (70-69-72-65=276)	1 stroke	Dow Finsterwald, Fred Hawkins
9	Apr 6, 1958	Masters Tournament	?4 (70-73-68-73=284)	1 stroke	Doug Ford, Fred Hawkins
10	Jun 29, 1958	Pepsi Championship	?11 (66-69-67-71=273)	5 strokes	Jay Hebert
11	Jan 25, 1959	Thunderbird Invitational	?18 (67-70-67-62=266)	3 strokes	Jimmy Demaret, Ken Venturi
12	May 11, 1959	Oklahoma City Open Invitational	?15 (73-64-67-69=273)	2 strokes	Bob Goalby
13	Nov 29, 1959	West Palm Beach Open Invitational	?7 (72-67-66-76=281)	Playoff	Gay Brewer, Pete Cooper
14	Feb 7, 1960	Palm Springs Desert Golf Classic	?20 (67-73-67-66-65=338)	3 strokes	Fred Hawkins
15	Feb 28, 1960	Texas Open Invitational	?12 (69-65-67-75=276)	2 strokes	Doug Ford, Frank Stranahan
16	Mar 6, 1960	Baton Rouge Open Invitational	?9 (71-71-69-68=279)	7 strokes	Jay Hebert, Ron Reif, Doug Sanders
17	Mar 13, 1960	Pensacola Open Invitational	?15 (68-65-73-67=273)	1 stroke	Doug Sanders
18	Apr 10, 1960	Masters Tournament	?6 (67-73-72-70=282)	1 stroke	Ken Venturi
19	Jun 18, 1960	U.S. Open	?4 (72-71-72-65=280)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus (amateur)
20	Aug 7, 1960	Insurance City Open Invitational	?14 (70-68-66-66=270)	Playoff	Bill Collins, Jack Fleck
21	Nov 27, 1960	Mobile Sertoma Open Invitational	?14 (68-67-74-65=274)	2 strokes	Johnny Pott
22	Jan 15, 1961	San Diego Open Invitational	?13 (69-68-69-65=271)	Playoff	Al Balding
23	Feb 13, 1961	Phoenix Open Invitational	?10 (69-65-66-70=270)	Playoff	Doug Sanders
24	Feb 26, 1961	Baton Rouge Open Invitational	?14 (65-67-68-66=266)	7 strokes	Wes Ellis
25	Apr 30, 1961	Texas Open Invitational	?14 (67-63-72-68=270)	1 stroke	Al Balding
26	Jun 25, 1961	Western Open	?13 (65-70-67-69=271)	2 strokes	Sam Snead
27	Jul 15, 1961	The Open Championship	?4 (70-73-69-72=284)	1 stroke	Dai Rees
28	Feb 4, 1962	Palm Springs Golf Classic	?17 (69-67-66-71-69=342)	3 strokes	Jay Hebert, Gene Littler
29	Feb 11, 1962	Phoenix Open Invitational	?15 (64-68-71-66=269)	12 strokes	Billy Casper, Don Fairfield, Bob McCallister, Jack Nicklaus
30	Apr 9, 1962	Masters Tournament	?8 (70-66-69-75=280)	Playoff	Gary Player (2nd), Dow Finsterwald (3rd)
31	Apr 29, 1962	Texas Open Invitational	?11 (67-69-70-67=273)	1 stroke	Joe Campbell, Gene Littler, Mason Rudolph, Doug Sanders
32	May 6, 1962	Tournament of Champions	?12 (69-70-69-68=276)	1 stroke	Billy Casper
33	May 14, 1962	Colonial National Invitation	+1 (67-72-66-76=281)	Playoff	Johnny Pott
34	Jul 13, 1962	The Open Championship	?12 (71-69-67-69=276)	6 strokes	Kel Nagle
35	Aug 12, 1962	American Golf Classic	?4 (67-69-70-70=276)	5 strokes	Mason Rudolph
36	Jan 7, 1963	Los Angeles Open	?10 (69-69-70-66=274)	3 strokes	Al Balding, Gary Player
37	Feb 12, 1963	Phoenix Open Invitational	?15 (68-67-68-70=273)	1 stroke	Gary Player
38	Mar 10, 1963	Pensacola Open Invitational	?15 (69-68-69-67=273)	2 strokes	Harold Kneece, Gary Player
39	Jun 16, 1963	Thunderbird Classic Invitational	?11 (67-70-68-72=277)	Playoff	Paul Harney
40	Jul 1, 1963	Cleveland Open Invitational	?11 (71-68-66-68=273)	Playoff	Tommy Aaron, Tony Lema
41	Jul 29, 1963	Western Open	?4 (73-67-67-73=280)	Playoff	Julius Boros, Jack Nicklaus
42	Oct 6, 1963	Whitemarsh Open Invitational	?7 (70-71-66-74=281)	1 stroke	Lionel Hebert
43	Apr 12, 1964	Masters Tournament	?12 (69-68-69-70=276)	6 strokes	Dave Marr, Jack Nicklaus
44	May 18, 1964	Oklahoma City Open Invitational	?11 (72-69-69-67=277)	2 strokes	Lionel Hebert
45	May 2, 1965	Tournament of Champions	?11 (66-69-71-71=277)	2 strokes	Chi Chi Rodriguez
46	Jan 9, 1966	Los Angeles Open	?11 (72-66-62-73=273)	3 strokes	Miller Barber, Paul Harney
47	Apr 18, 1966	Tournament of Champions	?5 (74-70-70-69=283)	Playoff	Gay Brewer
48	Nov 20, 1966	Houston Champions International	?9 (70-68-68-69=275)	1 stroke	Gardner Dickinson
49	Jan 29, 1967	Los Angeles Open	?15 (70-64-67-68=269)	5 strokes	Gay Brewer
50	Feb 19, 1967	Tucson Open Invitational	?15 (66-67-67-73=273)	1 stroke	Chuck Courtney
51	Aug 13, 1967	American Golf Classic	?4 (70-67-72-67=276)	3 strokes	Doug Sanders
52	Sep 24, 1967	Thunderbird Classic	?5 (71-71-72-69=283)	1 stroke	Charles Coody, Jack Nicklaus, Art Wall, Jr.
53	Feb 4, 1968	Bob Hope Desert Classic	?12 (72-70-67-71-68=348)	Playoff	Deane Beman
54	Sep 15, 1968	Kemper Open	?12 (69-70-70-67=276)	4 strokes	Bruce Crampton, Art Wall, Jr.
55	Nov 30, 1969	Heritage Golf Classic	?1 (68-71-70-74=283)	3 strokes	Dick Crawford, Bert Yancey
56	Dec 7, 1969	Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic	?18 (68-67-70-65=270)	2 strokes	Gay Brewer
57	Jul 26, 1970	National Four-Ball Championship PGA Players (with Jack Nicklaus)	?25 (61-67-64-67=259)	3 strokes	Bruce Crampton & Orville Moody, Gardner Dickinson & Sam Snead, George Archer & Bobby Nichols
58	Feb 14, 1971	Bob Hope Desert Classic	?18 (67-71-66-68-70=342)	Playoff	Raymond Floyd
59	Mar 14, 1971	Florida Citrus Invitational	?18 (66-68-68-68=270)	1 stroke	Julius Boros
60	Jul 25, 1971	Westchester Classic	?18 (64-70-68-68=270)	5 strokes	Gibby Gilbert, Hale Irwin
61	Aug 1, 1971	National Team Championship (with Jack Nicklaus)	?27 (62-64-65-66=257)	6 strokes	Julius Boros & Bill Collins, Bob Charles & Bruce Devlin
62	Feb 11, 1973	Bob Hope Desert Classic	?17 (71-66-69-68-69=343)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller

PGA Tour playoff record (14-10)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1956	Insurance City Open	Ted Kroll	Won with birdie on second extra hole
2	1957	Rubber City Open Invitational	Doug Ford	Won with birdie on sixth extra hole
3	1958	Azalea Open	Howie Johnson	Lost 18-hole playoff (Johnson:77, Palmer:78)
4	1959	West Palm Beach Open	Gay Brewer, Pete Cooper	Won with par on fourth extra hole
5	1960	Houston Classic	Bill Collins	Lost 18-hole playoff (Collins:69, Palmer:71)
6	1960	Insurance City Open	Bill Collins, Jack Fleck	Palmer won with birdie on third extra hole Collins eliminated with birdie on first hole
7	1961	San Diego Open Invitational	Al Balding	Won with birdie on first extra hole
8	1961	Phoenix Open Invitational	Doug Sanders	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:67 Sanders:70)
9	1961	500 Festival Open Invitation	Doug Ford	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
10	1962	Masters Tournament	Gary Player (2nd), Dow Finsterwald (3rd)	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:68, Player:71, Finsterwald:77)
11	1962	Colonial National Invitation	Johnny Pott	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:69, Pott:73)
12	1962	U.S. Open	Jack Nicklaus	Lost 18-hole playoff (Nicklaus:71, Palmer:74)
13	1963	Thunderbird Classic	Paul Harney	Won with par on first extra hole
14	1963	U.S. Open	Julius Boros, Jacky Cupit	Lost 18-hole playoff (Boros:70, Cupit:73, Palmer:76)
15	1963	Cleveland Open	Tommy Aaron, Tony Lema	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:67, Aaron:70, Lema:70)
16	1963	Western Open	Julius Boros, Jack Nicklaus	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:70, Boros:71, Nicklaus:73)
17	1964	Pensacola Open	Miller Barber, Gary Player	Lost 18-hole playoff (Player:71, Palmer:72, Barber:74)
18	1964	Cleveland Open	Tony Lema	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
19	1966	Bob Hope Desert Classic	Doug Sanders	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
20	1966	Tournament of Champions	Gay Brewer	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:69, Brewer:73)
21	1966	U.S. Open	Billy Casper	Lost 18-hole playoff (Casper:69, Palmer:73)
22	1968	Bob Hope Desert Classic	Deane Beman	Won with par on second extra hole
23	1970	Byron Nelson Golf Classic	Jack Nicklaus	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
24	1971	Bob Hope Desert Classic	Raymond Floyd	Won with birdie on second extra hole

Source:

Other wins (18)

• 1956 Panama Open, Colombian Open
• 1958 Long Island Open
• 1960 Canada Cup (with Sam Snead)
• 1962 Canada Cup (with Sam Snead)
• 1963 Wills Masters (Australia), Canada Cup (with Jack Nicklaus)
• 1964 Piccadilly World Match Play Championship (Unofficial money event), 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 (Unofficial money event), World Cup (with Jack Nicklaus)
• 1971 Lancome Trophy
• 1975 Spanish Open (European Tour), Penfold PGA Championship (European Tour)
• 1980 Canadian PGA Championship

Senior PGA Tour wins (10)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Dec 7, 1980	PGA Seniors Championship	+1 (72-69-73-75=289)	Playoff	Paul Harney
2	Jul 12, 1981	U.S. Senior Open	+9 (72-76-68-73=289)	Playoff	Billy Casper, Bob Stone
3	Jun 13, 1982	Marlboro Classic	?8 (68-70-69-69=276)	4 strokes	Billy Casper, Bob Rosburg
4	Aug 15, 1982	Denver Post Champions of Golf	?5 (68-67-73-67=275)	1 stroke	Bob Goalby
5	Dec 4, 1983	Boca Grove Seniors Classic	?17 (65-69-70-67=271)	3 strokes	Billy Casper
6	Jan 22, 1984	General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship	?12 (66-66-72=204)	2 strokes	Don January
7	Jun 24, 1984	Senior Tournament Players Championship	?6 (69-63-79-71=282)	3 strokes	Peter Thomson
8	Dec 2, 1984	Quadel Seniors Classic	?11 (67-71-67=205)	1 stroke	Lee Elder, Orville Moody
9	Jun 23, 1985	Senior Tournament Players Championship	?14 (67-71-68-68=274)	11 strokes	Miller Barber, Lee Elder, Gene Littler, Charles Owens
10	Sep 18, 1988	Crestar Classic	?13 (65-68-70=203)	4 strokes	Lee Elder, Jim Ferree, Larry Mowry

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2-1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1980	PGA Seniors' Championship	Paul Harney	Won with birdie on first extra hole
2	1981	U.S. Senior Open	Billy Casper, Bob Stone	Won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:70, Stone:74, Casper:77)
3	1984	Daytona Beach Seniors Golf Classic	Orville Moody, Dan Sikes	Moody won with birdie on second extra hole

Senior majors are shown in bold.

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

Major championships

Wins (7)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1958	Masters Tournament	Tied for lead	?4 (70-73-68-73=284)	1 stroke	Doug Ford, Fred Hawkins
1960	Masters Tournament (2)	1 shot lead	?6 (67-73-72-70=282)	1 stroke	Ken Venturi
1960	U.S. Open	7 shot deficit	?4 (72-71-72-65=280)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus (amateur)
1961	The Open Championship	1 shot lead	?4 (70-73-69-72=284)	1 stroke	Dai Rees
1962	Masters Tournament (3)	2 shot lead	?8 (70-66-69-75=280)	Playoff 1	Gary Player (2nd), Dow Finsterwald (3rd)
1962	The Open Championship (2)	5 shot lead	?12 (71-69-67-69=276)	6 strokes	Kel Nagle
1964	Masters Tournament (4)	5 shot lead	?12 (69-68-69-70=276)	6 strokes	Dave Marr, Jack Nicklaus

¹ Defeated Player (2nd) and Finsterwald (3rd) in an 18-hole playoff - Palmer (68), Player (71) and Finsterwald (77). 1st, 2nd and 3rd places awarded in this playoff.

Results timeline

Tournament	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament	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
Masters Tournament	1	T2	1	T9	1	T2	T4	4	CUT	27
U.S. Open	1	T14	2	T2	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
Masters Tournament	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
Masters Tournament	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
Masters Tournament	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
Masters Tournament	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.

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	4	2	1	9	12	19	50	25
U.S. Open	1	4	1	10	13	18	33	24
The Open Championship	2	1	0	3	7	12	23	17
PGA Championship	0	3	0	4	6	13	37	24
Totals	7	10	2	26	38	62	143	90

• Most consecutive cuts made - 26 (1958 Masters - 1965 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s - 6 (1966 Masters - 1967 U.S. Open)

Senior major championships

Wins (5)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1980	PGA Seniors' Championship	+1 (72-69-73-75=289)	Playoff1	Paul Harney
1981	U.S. Senior Open	+9 (72-76-68-73=289)	Playoff2	Billy Casper, Bob Stone
1984a	General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship (2)	?6 (69-63-79-71=282)	2 strokes	Don January
1984	Senior Players Championship	?12 (72-68-67-69=276)	3 strokes	Peter Thomson
1985	Senior Players Championship (2)	?14 (67-71-68-68=274)	11 strokes	Miller Barber, Lee Elder, Gene Littler, Charles Owens

^a This was the January edition of the tournament.
¹ Palmer won this with a birdie on the first playoff hole.
² Won in an 18-hole playoff, Palmer shot a (70) to Stone's (74) and Casper's (77).

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1961 (winners), 1963 (winners, playing captain), 1965 (winners), 1967 (winners), 1971 (winners), 1973 (winners), 1975 (winners, non-playing captain)
• World Cup: 1960 (winners), 1962 (winners), 1963 (winners), 1964 (winners), 1966 (winners), 1967 (winners, individual winner)
• Presidents Cup: 1996 (winners, non-playing captain)

See also

• Arnold Palmer Cup
• Arnold Palmer (drink)
• Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History
• Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf (video game)
• List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards
• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• List of golfers with most wins in one PGA Tour event
• List of golfers with most PGA Tour Champions wins
• List of golfers with most Champions Tour major championship wins
• List of men's major championships winning golfers
• Longest PGA Tour win streaks
• Most PGA Tour wins in a year