President and players praise golf legend Palmer

Alastair Johnson, CEO of Arnold Palmer Enterprises, said on Monday that Palmer – who was known as “the King” – had died in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, of complications from heart problems.

Mr Johnson said Palmer had been admitted to hospital on Thursday for cardiovascular work, and that he had weakened over the last few days.

He died on Sunday.

Palmer ranked among the most important figures in golf history – and it went well beyond his seven major championships and 62 PGA Tour wins.

His good looks, devilish grin, and go-for-broke manner helped make the elite sport appealing to one and all.

US president Barack Obama wrote this message via the internet service Twitter: “Here’s to The King who was as extraordinary on the links as he was generous to others. Thanks for the memories, Arnold.”

Rory McIlroy was quoted as telling the BBC: “Arnold, especially at the time in the 60s and 70s, really brought the game to the masses.

“I don’t think anyone in any sport has left a legacy like Arnold Palmer has.

“I was able to spend a little bit of time with him over the last couple of years and I’ll always cherish that and remember that. He’s a very good man, a very generous man, and he’ll live long in the memory of a lot of people.”

Jack Nicklaus, a great rival of Palmer, said: “Arnold transcended the game of golf. He was more than a golfer or even great golfer.

“He was an icon. He was a legend... He was the king of our sport and always will be.”

Beyond his golf, Palmer was a pioneer in sports marketing, paving the way for scores of other athletes to reap in millions from endorsements.

Some four decades after his last PGA Tour win, he ranked among the highest earners in golf.

On the golf course, Palmer was an icon – not for how often he won, but the way he did it.

He would hitch up his trousers, drop a cigarette, and attack the flags.

With powerful hands wrapped around the golf club, Palmer would slash at the ball with all of his might, then twist his muscular neck and squint to see where it went.

Palmer stopped playing the Masters in 2004 but hit the ceremonial tee shot every year until 2016, when age began to take a toll and he struggled with his balance.

Palmer was once the runner-up at the British Open, later calling it one of the biggest disappointments of his career.

But his appearance alone invigorated the tournament, which Americans had been ignoring for years.

He never like being referred to as “the King”, but the name stuck.

“It was back in the early 60s. I was playing pretty good, winning a lot of tournaments, and someone gave a speech and referred to me as ‘the King’,” Palmer had said in 2011.

“I don’t bask in it. I don’t relish it.”

He said he had attempted to stop people calling him that, but came to find there was “no point” in trying.

He was also successful with golf course design, a wine collection, and apparel that included his famous logo of an umbrella.

In 2007 the PGA Tour changed the name of the tournament to the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Another lasting legacy is that fact that a combination of iced tea and lemonade is known as an “Arnold Palmer”.

Palmer was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, the oldest of four children.

His father Deacon became the greenskeeper at Latrobe Country Club in 1921 and the club pro in 1933.

He had two loves as a boy – playing cowboys and Indians, and playing golf.

It was on the golf course that Palmer grew to become so strong.

“When I was six years old, my father put me on a steel-wheeled tractor,” he recalled.

“I had to stand up to turn the wheel. That’s one thing made me strong. The other thing was I pushed mowers.

“In those days, there were no motors on anything except the tractor.”

Palmer’s image was everywhere, from motor oil to ketchup to financial services companies.

Even as late as 2011, he was number three on Golf Digest’s list of top earners at 36 million dollars (£27.7m) a year.

Palmer’s other love was aviation, having piloted his first aircraft in 1956.

He set a record in 1976 when he circumnavigated the globe in 57 hours, 25 minutes and 42 seconds in a Lear 36.

He continued flying his Cessna Citation 10 until he failed to renew his licence at 81, just short of 20,000 hours in the cockpit.

Palmer’s first wife, Winning, died in 1999.

They had two daughters, and grandson Sam Saunders plays on the PGA Tour.

Palmer married Kathleen (Kit) Gawthrop in 2005.

PALMER IN QUOTES:

Arnold Palmer was loved by players and golf fans alike.

Even when the Pennsylvania-born golfer’s playing days were over, he was still on hand to offer sage advice to the next breed of professionals coming through. Here are some of his pearls of wisdom:

• “Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening – and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented.”

•“I’ve always made a total effort, even when the odds seemed entirely against me. I never quit trying; I never felt that I didn’t have a chance to win.”

• “The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.”

•“Golf is a game of inches. The most important are the six inches between your ears.”

• “There’s no question that the galleries still like to see birdies and eagles. If you take them all away, it takes some of the dramatics, the excitement of a golf tournament and we (people) don’t want to do that.”