'The King' Tees Off On State Of Golf

29/03/2009 19:11

By Larry Dorman
New York Times

Arnold Palmer sits down for question and answer session

ORLANDO, Fla. — It was just before 10:15 a.m. Thursday, and the host of the Arnold Palmer Invitational was moving through his check list. He had polished off an 8 a.m. breakfast speech to some tournament partners and a 10 a.m. photo-op with about 50 South American collaborators in a golf course venture.

Six months shy of his 80th birthday, tan and smiling, Arnold Palmer checked his watch. He had some time before a scheduled interview, so he sat down in the well-worn leather chair behind his desk, uncapped his Sharpie and began to sign.

His callused fingers engulfed the marker and the big hand moved swiftly, with near-artistic precision, putting sport’s most recognizable signature on an array of hats, photographs, posters, programs and scorecards from around the globe.

More than three and a half decades after his 52nd and final PGA Tour victory in 1973, this is how Arnold Palmer remains one of the world’s most popular athletes. People who may never have seen him play, who have no idea he won 29 times from 1960-64 — including six of his seven major championships — still flood his office asking for autographs. He signs every one.

“We’ve never had an exact figure, but it has to be near a million,” Bev Norwood, a close Palmer associate for 31 years, said when asked how many Palmer had signed.

That many autographs already in circulation could explain why a vintage Pennzoil piggy bank bearing Palmer’s signature had not yet fetched an opening eBay bid of $4.99 by Friday. Palmer is proud of the autograph glut he has created, and plans to keep prices down by continuing to sign for free. He then turned his attention to the golf market.

More from Larry Dorman of the New York Times.

SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:

‘The King,’ Arnold Palmer, continues to be golf’s most beloved ambassador. SWIVEL HIPS saw Arnold Palmer play golf live, and got the King’s autograph, at the Senior Skins Game at the Mauna Lani Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1994. It was the thrill of a lifetime for this avid golf nut.