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Arnold PalmerAmerican professional golfer
Date of Birth: 10.09.1929
Country:  USA |
Content:
The Biography of Arnold Palmer
Arnold Daniel Palmer, an American professional golfer, is rightfully known as "The King" as he has been one of the most popular stars in the sport and one of the pioneers of golf for over half a century. He was the first sports superstar in the dawn of the era of sports television that began in the 1950s. Palmer is considered one of the greatest players in the history of professional men's golf, with victories in numerous PGA Tour and Champions Tour competitions since 1955. Perhaps Palmer had no equal among his professional colleagues in terms of social impact on the development of golf. His humble background and extraordinary popularity helped change the perception of golf among a wide audience, transforming it from an elite pastime to a democratic sport accessible to both the middle and working classes. Along with American Jack Nicklaus and South African Gary Player, Arnold Palmer is part of the so-called "Big Three" golfers who have done more than others to popularize and commercialize the sport worldwide. In 1998, Palmer was awarded the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 1974, he was immortalized in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Early Life and Career
Palmer was born on September 10, 1929, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He learned to play golf from his father, Milfred Palmer, who was a greenskeeper at a local country club and maintained the golf courses in proper condition. In his childhood, Arnold often accompanied his father to work. A sports scholarship allowed Palmer to enroll at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, but after the death of a close friend, he left college and joined the United States Coast Guard, where he served for three years while continuing to improve his golf skills. After his service, Palmer returned to college and golf competitions. His victory in the amateur championship in 1954 made him consider a professional career, and with the approval of his young wife, Winifred Walzer, whom Arnold met at a tournament in Pennsylvania, he embarked on his first professional tour in 1955. In his debut season, Palmer won the Canadian Open, and in the following years, his game improved consistently.
The Charisma and Success
Most experts believe that Arnold Palmer's charisma was the key factor in making golf competitions so popular among viewers in the 1950s and 1960s, laying the foundation for its current popularity. His agent later said that Palmer possessed all five qualities necessary for a great sports star - he looked great, he came from a humble background, he was an emotional player who was not afraid to take risks, he participated in a series of exciting sports tournaments in the early days of television, and finally, he was straightforward and friendly, without suffering from the complex of a superstar. Palmer won seven major professional tournaments: he won the Masters in 1958, 1960, 1962, and 1964, the U.S. Open in 1960, and the British Open in 1961 and 1962. His army of fans, including not only Americans but also Britons and European fans, is often referred to as "Arnie's Army," and in 1967, he became the first professional golfer to earn a million dollars on the PGA Tour. Currently, Arnold Palmer resides in Orlando, Florida, near his own golf club. For the past 50 years, he has been an avid pilot, but he thought he said goodbye to the sky in 2011 when his medical certificate expired. However, in May 2011, Palmer received a new certificate despite his venerable age. In 1999, his wife Winifred passed away from cancer after 45 years of marriage. In 2005, Palmer remarried Kathleen Gawthrop.
