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  • Wins
    2
  • Turned Pro
    1954
  • Previous Opens
    23
  • CHAMPION GOLFER OF THE YEAR
    1961
    1962

Arnold Palmer

Palmer
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Known simply as “The King”, Arnold Palmer is widely credited with popularising the game thanks to his charismatic personality and his attacking style, never knowingly backing off.
Palmer
  • He became the first golfer to eclipse $1 million in total purse winnings

    Did you know?

  • 95

    Professional wins

  • One of 13 original inductees into the World Golf Hall of Fame

    Fun fact

Arnold Palmer 2

Remembering The King

A legend, a pioneer, Arnold Palmer will always be known as one of the greatest to play the game of golf.

Arnold Palmer 1961
The King wins his first Claret Jug in 1961

Arnold Palmer at the open

Arnold Palmer 3

Palmer wins again at Royal Troon

Arnie's class shone through as he defended his title and strode to a six shot victory. 

Known simply as “The King”, Arnold Palmer is widely credited with popularising the game thanks to his charismatic personality and his attacking style, never knowingly backing off.

He arrived on the scene just as golf started to be shown on television in America and he introduced a legion of fans to the game, while those following him on the fairways were known as “Arnie’s Army”. He won The Masters four times in seven years and produced a trademark final-round charge to win the 1960 US Open at Cherry Hills.

That year, after winning the first two majors of the year, he travelled to The Open for the first time, hoping to achieve a modern version of Bobby Jones’s 1930 Grand Slam, that would include The Masters, the US Open, The Open and the PGA Championship.

Palmer

He failed by just one stroke at St Andrews as Kel Nagle won the Centenary Open but a year later he defeated Dai Rees by one shot at Royal Birkdale to become only the third American, after Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, to win the Claret Jug in almost three decades.

His famous 6-iron shot on the 15th hole (now the 16th) from the base of a bush onto the green is marked by a plaque.

At Troon in 1962 he ran away with the title, beating Nagle by six, with third-place Phil Rodgers 13 shots back.

Huge galleries followed Palmer, leading to improvements in marshalling and crowd management in future Opens, while other leading Americans joined him in regularly travelling over for The Open, which had been dominated by Australians and South Africans in the 1950s.

He won only the two Opens but he was loved in Britain as in America and enjoyed an emotional send-off when he bowed out at St Andrews, saluted on the Swilcan Bridge, in 1995.

Venue
Finish
R1
R2
R3
R4
Total
Par
St Andrews 1995
M/C
83
75
-
-
-
M/C
St Andrews 1990
M/C
73
71
-
-
-
M/C
Royal Troon 1989
M/C
82
82
-
-
-
M/C
Muirfield 1987
M/C
75
78
-
-
-
M/C
St Andrews 1984
M/C
76
77
-
-
-
M/C
Royal Birkdale 1983
56
72
74
68
75
289
-
Royal Troon 1982
27
71
73
78
74
296
-
Royal St George's 1981
23
72
74
73
71
290
-
Muirfield 1980
M/C
76
74
-
-
-
M/C
St Andrews 1978
34
71
71
75
75
292
-
Turnberry 1977
7
73
73
67
69
282
-
Royal Birkdale 1976
55
75
72
76
77
300
-
Carnoustie 1975
16
74
72
69
73
288
-
Royal Troon 1973
14
72
76
70
72
290
-
Muirfield 1972
7
73
73
69
71
286
-
St Andrews 1970
12
68
72
76
74
290
-
Carnoustie 1968
10
77
71
72
77
297
-
Muirfield 1966
8
73
72
69
74
288
-
Royal Birkdale 1965
16
70
71
75
79
295
-
Royal Lytham & St Annes 1963
26
76
71
71
76
294
-
Royal Troon 1962
1
71
69
67
69
276
-
Royal Birkdale 1961
1
70
73
69
72
284
-
St Andrews 1960
2
70
71
70
68
279
-

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