Arnold Palmer

PGA Tour Playoff Record: 14-10
Joined Champions Tour: 1980
Champions Tour Playoff Record: 1-1
PGA Tour Victories: 62 - 1955 Canadian Open; 1956 Insurance City Open, Eastern Open; 1957 Houston Open, Azalea Open, Rubber City Open, San Diego Open; 1958 St. Petersburg Open, Masters, Pepsi Championship; 1959 Thunderbird Invitation, Oklahoma City Open, West Palm Beach Open; 1960 Palm Springs Desert Classic, Texas Open, Baton Rouge Open, Pensacola Open, Masters, U.S. Open, Insurance City Open, Mobile Sertoma Open; 1961 San Diego Open, Phoenix Open, Baton Rouge Open, Texas Open, British Open, Western Open; 1962 Palmer Springs Desert Classic, Phoenix Open, Masters, Texas Open, Tournament of Champions, Colonial National Invitational, British Open, American Golf Classic; 1963 Los Angeles Open, Phoenix Open, Pensacola Open, Thunderbird Classic, Cleveland Open, Western Open, Whitemarsh Open; 1964 Masters, Oklahoma City Open; 1965 Tournament of Champions; 1966 Los Angeles Open, Tournament of Champions, Houston Champions; 1967 Los Angeles Open, Tucson Open, American Golf Classic, Thunderbird Classic; 1968 Bob Hope Classic, Kemper Open; 1969 Heritage Golf Classic, Danny Thomas-Diplomat Classic; 1970 National Four-Ball Championship (with Jack Nicklaus); 1971 Bob Hope Desert Classic, Florida Citrus Open, Westchester Classic, National Team Championship (with Jack Nicklaus); 1973 Bob Hope Desert Classic.
Champions Tour Victories: 10 - 1980 PGA Seniors Championship; 1981 U.S. Senior Open; 1982 Marlboro Classic, Denver Post Champions; 1983 Boca Grove Senior Classic; 1984 PGA Seniors Championship, Senior TPC, Quadel Senior Classic; 1985 Senior TPC; 1988 Crestar Classic.

Player Notes: Arnold Palmer, one of the Masters great champions, sadly passed away last September, but the memories and inspiration he provided at Augusta National for more than six decades will live on in the hearts and minds of millions of admirers around the world. It?s fitting to reflect on some of his career highlights outlined below:
Arnold Palmer won every major title except the PGA Championship ? four Masters, two British Opens and one U.S. Open. His titles numbered 62 on the PGA Tour, 10 on the Champions Tour and 92 worldwide. He also was the 1954 U.S. Amateur champion.
The popular Masters champion was a six-time U.S. Ryder Cup team member, and the U.S. Ryder Cup Captain in 1963 and ?75. He also captained the 1996 Presidents Cup team. He was the winner of the 1961, ?62, ?64 and ?67 Vardon Trophy and led the PGA Tour in earnings in 1958, ?60, ?62 and ?64. On July 21, 1968, he became the first player in PGA Tour history to surpass $1 million in earnings.
Palmer first played the Masters in 1955, his initial year on the PGA Tour. With a closing round of 69, he finished T-10th and accepted his first check on the Tour in the amount of $695.83.
It was the start of a tight, enduring bond between Palmer, the Masters and his followers. He played 50 consecutive Masters between 1955 and 2004, a record that may never be broken. The streak almost came to an end in 1997 when he underwent prostate cancer surgery in January, but ?The King? returned to play the Masters three months later.
Palmer, in fact, was a big part of virtually every Masters for 62 years, either as a competitor or a non-participant attendee. Starting in 2007, he served as an Honorary Starter. He was joined in that role by Jack Nicklaus in 2010 and Gary Player in 2012. To the delight of players, patrons and television viewers, he made one of his last public appearances at the Honorary Starters ceremony on Thursday morning of the 2016 Masters.
In Palmer?s fourth Masters start in 1958, he won by one shot over Doug Ford and Fred Hawkins. Over the course of the next decade, Palmer?s flair for doing well at Augusta National and his go-for-broke style of play coincided with a time when golf on television was in its infancy and looking for a hero. As one-time Masters producer Frank Chirkinian once said, ?The camera is all-knowing. It either loves you, or it doesn?t.? It certainly loved Palmer. To this day, many experts say that golf?s popularity soared around the world after the 1960 Masters when Palmer birdied his final two holes to win by a shot. That defining moment rocketed Palmer to super-stardom. Palmer was runner-up the next year and, in 1962, he won by shooting a 68 in a playoff to defeat Gary Player and Dow Finsterwald. Palmer?s fourth victory was his most decisive as he defeated Jack Nicklaus and Dave Marr by six strokes.
In the span of 11 years between 1957 and 1967, Palmer finished in the top-10 11 times. He became the first to win four Masters with his victory in 1964. Palmer led or co-led the Masters 14 times after the 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounds, the most of any player in Masters history (Nicklaus is 2nd with 13). He also was the first player to lead or co-lead after six consecutive rounds, his name a solid fixture atop the leader board after every round in 1960 and after the first and second rounds in 1961.

The Masters legend passed away on September 25, 2016 at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while awaiting heart surgery. After his funeral, his ashes were scattered at Latrobe Country Club in his home town.