Arnold Palmer Fast Facts | CNN

Arnold Palmer Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research
3 minute read
Updated 4:19 PM EDT, Tue April 14, 2020
Arnold Palmer at golf's Hall of Fame, where he was inducted in 1974 after a glittering career.
Word Play —
Arnold Palmer at golf's Hall of Fame, where he was inducted in 1974 after a glittering career.
Marc Serota/Getty Images
Thanks to his golfing prowess and good looks, Palmer greatly helped to popularize the sport in the 1950s, when television coverage took off.
Main Man —
Thanks to his golfing prowess and good looks, Palmer greatly helped to popularize the sport in the 1950s, when television coverage took off.
Evening Standard/Getty Images
Augusta, 2004. As Palmer waits to putt out at the 18th green, for the 50th consecutive year, one of golf's all-time greats is overcome by emotion as his professional Masters career nears its end.
Tearful Farewell —
Augusta, 2004. As Palmer waits to putt out at the 18th green, for the 50th consecutive year, one of golf's all-time greats is overcome by emotion as his professional Masters career nears its end.
Harry How/Getty Images
Lloyd Mangrum, pictured with Great Britain's 1953 Ryder Cup captain Henry Cotton (left), told Palmer he would have given up his 1946 U.S. Open win and 36 PGA Tour victories "for one Masters" triumph.
Missing Major —
Lloyd Mangrum, pictured with Great Britain's 1953 Ryder Cup captain Henry Cotton (left), told Palmer he would have given up his 1946 U.S. Open win and 36 PGA Tour victories "for one Masters" triumph.
Terry Disney/Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower drives down the fairway at Turnberry in Scotland in 1959. Eisenhower, a friend of Palmer's, was a golfing fanatic who <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whitehousemuseum.org%2Fwest-wing%2Foval-office-history.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank">destroyed the floor of the White House's Oval Office</a> with his golf spikes.
Political Swing —
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower drives down the fairway at Turnberry in Scotland in 1959. Eisenhower, a friend of Palmer's, was a golfing fanatic who destroyed the floor of the White House's Oval Office with his golf spikes.
Grier/Central Press/Getty Images
Tiger Woods plays a shot under the Eisenhower Tree at the 2011 Masters, suffering an injury that would cause him to miss four months of the season.
Trees and Woods —
Tiger Woods plays a shot under the Eisenhower Tree at the 2011 Masters, suffering an injury that would cause him to miss four months of the season.
Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Palmer putts as fellow greats Jack Nicklaus (left) and Gary Player (center) look on during the Par 3 Contest prior to the 2011 Masters at the course the American called "a pleasure to play on."
"Impeccable Condition" —
Palmer putts as fellow greats Jack Nicklaus (left) and Gary Player (center) look on during the Par 3 Contest prior to the 2011 Masters at the course the American called "a pleasure to play on."
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Palmer congratulates Matt Every after the American won last month's Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, qualifying for the Masters.
In Fine Fettle —
Palmer congratulates Matt Every after the American won last month's Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, qualifying for the Masters.
Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
Palmer's grandson Sam Saunders, 26, turned pro in 2011 and is fighting to win back his place on the PGA Tour.
Family Business —
Palmer's grandson Sam Saunders, 26, turned pro in 2011 and is fighting to win back his place on the PGA Tour.
Michael Cohen/Getty Images
Arnold Palmer: Golf legend
CNN  — 

Here is a look at the life of legendary golfer Arnold Palmer.

Personal

Birth date: September 10, 1929

Death date: September 25, 2016

Birth place: Latrobe, Pennsylvania

Birth name: Arnold Daniel Palmer

Father: Milfred Jerome (Deacon) Palmer, golf club pro

Mother: Doris M. Palmer

Marriages: Kathleen “Kit” (Gawthrop) Palmer (January 26, 2005-September 25, 2016, his death); Winnie (Walzer) Palmer (December 20, 1954-November 20, 1999, her death)

Children: with Winnie Palmer: Amy, 1958; Peggy, 1956

Education: Attended Wake Forest College, 1947-1951 (dropped out senior year)

Military service: US Coast Guard, 1951-1954

Other Facts

Learned to play golf at age three, taught by his father the Latrobe Country Club golf pro.

Winner of over 90 golf tournaments and was the first person to make $1 million playing golf.

Is credited with bringing golf into the mainstream and making it popular with people outside of country clubs.

Palmer’s fans were known as Arnie’s Army and followed him on the weekly PGA Tour events.

Built a financial empire with endorsements and other golf-related ventures, including co-founding the Golf Channel.

Quit Wake Forest and joined the US Coast Guard after his roommate, Bud Worsham, was killed in a car accident.

Proposed to his first wife after knowing her for three days.

Was a licensed jet pilot and flew a Cessna Citation X.

Timeline

1954 - Wins the United States Golf Association Amateur Championship.

November 1954 - Turns pro and signs a sponsorship contract with Wilson Sporting Goods.

1958, 1960, 1962, 1964 - Wins The Masters.

1960 - Wins the US Open.

1961, 1962 - Wins the British Open.

1971 - Buys the Latrobe Country Club, the same course where he learned to play golf.

1974 - Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

1980 - Wins the Seniors Championship, his first event on the Seniors Tour.

1981 - Wins the US Seniors Open.

1993 - Presented with the National Sports Award by President Bill Clinton.

1994 - Makes his final appearance at the US Open.

1995 - Makes his final appearance at the British Open.

1996-1997 - Diagnosed and successfully treated for prostate cancer.

1997 - The Palmer Cup is established, a competition showcasing American and European college golfers.

2003 - The Arnold Palmer Prostate Center is established. The center is part of the Eisenhower Lucy Curci Cancer Center within the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California.

2004 - Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush.

2004 - Makes his 50th and final appearance at the Masters.

2006 - Plays his last Champions Tour event.

2007 - The Bay Hill Invitational, held at Palmer’s Bay Hill Club, is renamed the Arnold Palmer Invitational. This is the second PGA tour competition to be named after someone; the Byron Nelson championship is the other.

March 25, 2012 - Is hospitalized overnight due to high blood pressure. He is unable to present the winner’s trophy to Tiger Woods after the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

September 12, 2012 - Palmer receives the Congressional Gold Medal that was signed by President Barack Obama in 2009 in a ceremony at the US Capitol. Jack Nicklaus attends the ceremony. Palmer is the sixth sportsman to receive the award.

September 25, 2016 - Passes away at the age of 87.