Palmer Gives ‘Em Blast From the Past : Golf: He uses a putting tip from Trevino to win Senior Skins by taking two holes and $240,000.

Arnold Palmer is still the king.

After getting a much-needed putting tip from Lee Trevino, the old man among golfing greats took most of the money from the youngsters Sunday in the Senior Skins Game at Mauna Lani Resorts.

Cheered long and loud by the 4,000 spectators, Palmer made a birdie on the 16th hole worth $215,000 and finished with a total of $240,000. Jack Nicklaus won $140,000, all with a birdie on No. 8, and Lee Trevino $70,000 with a par on the third extra hole. Gary Player, despite playing four-under golf through 12 holes before a contact lens started causing problems, was shut out.

“It was a great thrill,” said Palmer, who turned 60 last summer. “It’s been a long time since I’ve won anything. I knew I was hitting the ball well, but the putting was terrible. I owe a lot to Lee for the tip.

“It’s magic the way it changes your game when the putts start to drop. My irons, which I hadn’t been hitting well, suddenly were going where I wanted them to go. I also feel the crowd played a part, too. It’s hard to beat that feeling when you know they’re pulling for you.”

The foursome had played seven holes to no decision on Saturday, before television dictated the decision to end play for the day. So the entire purse of $450,000 was determined Sunday. Actually they played 14 holes in the final round, but the excitement ended on the 378-yard 16th hole. Nicklaus had begun the final day by hitting an eight-iron to within two feet of the pin on the par-three eighth hole and sinking the putt for his birdie.

Palmer, who played well from tee to green Saturday, had putted atrociously using a club that had a 37-inch shaft that he gripped with his hands apart. He discarded that club quickly.

Before the last round, Palmer tried five standard-length putters. While he was trying to decide which one to use, Trevino suggested he grip the putter with his left index finger instead of pointing it down the shaft.

“I saw Arnold gripping the putter with his hands apart yesterday and I couldn’t handle it,” said Trevino, who seemed to enjoy Palmer’s success as much as his fans did. “He’s like Mom and apple pie. It’s un-American for him to putt with his hands apart. I just told him the left hand did the work and grip the club with all his fingers.

“He showed me something when he used the grip on that first putt today. He didn’t make that one, but from then on, he putted terrifically. I’m happy for him and I’m happy for golf.”

Palmer began his drive to his first victory in a skins game, on the 418-yard, par-four ninth, the second hole on the final day. All four hit the ball more than 270 yards. Palmer hit an eight-iron 138 yards to eight feet above the hole. The others were on the green but missed fairly long birdie tries. Palmer, with fans yelling encouragement as he lined up the putt, sank his and picked up $25,000.

“It was the start of something big,” he laughed. “Winning the first skin takes the pressure off. Everything just seemed to come together.”

With a mere $180,000 at stake on the 15th, a 193-yard par three over water, Palmer appeared to have it won when he sank a 22-footer for a birdie. But Trevino, who prevented victories on six holes by sinking clutch putts, dropped a 10-footer.

The biggest shot of the two-day event came on the 16th. Palmer, who was driving the ball almost as well as Trevino and Nicklaus, who are 10 years younger, hit a nearly perfect pitching wedge. The ball stopped two feet from the pin. When Nicklaus missed a 12-footer, Palmer knocked in the short one.

“Those two- and three-footers may look easy, but believe me they aren’t,” Nicklaus said. “When your first putt of the day is a three-footer for $140,000 at 10 a.m., it really gets your heart to pumping.

“I really enjoyed this, and now I’m on the money list for seniors. I haven’t seen Arnie play this well in a long time.”

Player refused to put the blame for his failure to win anything.

“No excuses,” he said. “Arnie deserved to win. I enjoyed it. I think it showed people that ours is not an old man’s tour. The TV fans saw great golf. It is the second Senior Skins in a row that proved we can still play good and exciting golf.”

The skin won by Trevino on the par-five 18th, the third extra hole, was the only hole won with a par. In the first 18 holes there were 21 birdies.

In the format, the first six holes were each worth $15,000, with a carryover on ties. The next six were worth $25,000 and the last six $35,000.