Arnold Palmer, Legendary Golfer, Dies at 87

PITTSBURGH, PA — Arnold Palmer, one of golf's most recognizable figures known as much for his gentlemanly manner as for his mastery of the links, died Sunday in Pittsburgh. Nicknamed "The King," he was best known for using television and marketing to bring a sport largely limited to the rich and their country clubs to the masses and newly built public courses all over the world. He was 87.

Palmer's longtime assistant Doc Griffin told the Washington Post he died Sunday ahead of a planned heart surgery at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian Hospital. The son of a groundskeeper, Palmer had a modest upbringing. But his talent for golf led him to become an all-around legend in the sport.

Palmer's name, simply, was synonymous with golf.

Golf Digest's Tom Callahan memorialized him on Sunday:

He looked like an athlete, a prizefighter, a middleweight. He opened golf's windows and let in some air. He lifted a country-club game, balanced it on his shoulders, carried it to the people and made it a sport. He won big. He lost big. People who didn't follow golf followed him. People who hated golf loved him. He was photogenic in the old newspapers. He was telegenic in the new medium. He was the most asked question called into the night desks on weekends: "What did Palmer do today?"

A native of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Palmer is credited with bringing golf to the televised masses. He attended Wake Forest University in North Carolina on a golf scholarship before he left to join the Coast Guard. After three years of service, he went to work in Cleveland selling paint. Then Palmer stunned the golf world by winning the 1954 U.S. Amateur Tournament. The same year he announced his intention to turn pro.

Between 1958 and 1964, in the span of just six years, Palmer won seven major titles, including four Masters, one U.S. Open title and two British Open titles. He also won 62 PGA Tour titles, ranking fifth on the Tour's all-time victory list.

In 1959, someone coined the phrase Arnie's Army to describe his fans. To fill the galleries at Augusta National, free passes would be given to soldiers who showed up in uniform. They didn't know a lot about golf, but they knew Palmer was the defending Masters champion so they pulled for him. The name stuck, and Palmer's "army" of fans grew and grew.

“We loved him with a mythic American joy,” his biographer James Dodson told Golfweek. “He represented everything that is great about golf. The friendship, the fellowship, the laughter, the impossibility of golf, the sudden rapture moment that brings you back, a moment that you never forget, that’s Arnold Palmer in spades. He’s the defining figure in golf.”

Palmer helped co-found the Golf Channel, the NBC network dedicated entirely to the sport. As noted by the Hollywood Reporter, Palmer was also the first client of the talent management firm IMG, a company that is now a global leader in the field. The "Arnold Palmer," the drink that borrows its name from the golfer, a mixture of lemonade and iced tea, is pervasive in American culture.

Palmer's legend spanned generations. Three years ago, he taught the model Kate Upton how to golf at his Latrobe Country Club. The two posed for a Golf Digest photo shoot.

In recent years, he played in a foursome on television to hawk Xarelto, a blood thinner to cut the risk of stroke, cutting up alongside NBA star Chris Bosh, comedian Kevin Nealon and NASCAR driver Brian Vickers.

"He was a true gentleman and a national treasure," Nealon tweeted on Sunday. "He was the King. God bless Arnold Palmer."

In 2004, Palmer received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush.

Tributes for the legend poured in from the golf world and from those who admired him. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf called him one of the state's "greatest ambassadors."

Golfer Jack Nicklaus, a legend in his own right, called Palmer a fighter who never gave up on anything.

President Obama shared a photo of him putting in the Oval Office, with Palmer closely watching. "Here's to The King who was as extraordinary on the links as he was generous to others," Obama wrote.

Palmer's influence on golf was not limited to his talent but extended to his brand. With his design company, Palmer created hundreds of signature designed courses across the world, a wine collection and an apparel chain. He owns the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, where the annual Arnold Palmer Invitational on the PGA Tour is held. He also lends his name to the Arnold Palmer Cup, a collegiate level tournament.

His foundation, Arnie’s Army Charitable Foundation, gives to institutions that help children and families. The Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation supports the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, Florida.

His first wife Winnie died of ovarian cancer in 1999. Palmer is survived by his second wife, Kathleen "Kit" Gawthrop, two daughters and his grandson.

This report will be updated.

Image via United States Coast Guard