Arnold Palmer

Arnold Daniel Palmer was born on September 10, 1929, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. His father, Milfred "Deacon" Palmer, was the head professional and greenskeeper at Latrobe Country Club, and Arnold learned to play golf on that course as a young child. He attended Wake Forest College on a golf scholarship before serving in the United States Coast Guard.

Palmer turned professional in 1954 and won his first major championship, the Masters Tournament, in 1958. He went on to win seven major championships in total: four Masters titles (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964), one U.S. Open (1960), and two Open Championships (1961, 1962). His aggressive, go-for-broke style of play made him enormously popular with galleries, and his devoted fans became known as "Arnie's Army."

Beyond his playing record, Palmer was a central figure in the rise of professional golf as a business and media enterprise. He was among the first athletes to build a major commercial brand, working with agent Mark McCormack of IMG in a partnership that helped define modern sports marketing. His endorsements, course design work, and business ventures made him one of the wealthiest figures in golf history.

Palmer was a founding member of the Golf Channel and a longtime ambassador for the sport at the international level. He played in the Masters Tournament for the final time in 2004, having participated in the event for five decades. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2012.

Arnold Palmer died on September 25, 2016, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the age of 87. He is remembered not only for his championships but for the warmth and accessibility he brought to professional golf, qualities that made him one of the most beloved athletes of the twentieth century.