NAMES IN THE NEWS : Arnie’s Army on Its Final March

An era will end at St. Andrews this week when Arnold Palmer walks down the 18th fairway for the last time after 30 years as a living legend of the British Open.

Palmer, approaching his 61st birthday, confirmed today that this was to be his final Open, appropriately at the same course where he played in the most venerable of the golf championships for the first time in 1960.

In all, Palmer has played 21 Opens, winning in 1961 and 1962.

Recognized as the man who resurrected the championship to its current exalted status by persuading his fellow American players to follow him across the Atlantic, he believes the time has come to fade into the background.

“I think it’s appropriate I don’t play any more, particularly if I keep shooting the kind of scores I’ve been shooting recently,” he said. “Concentration is the major thing I lack today. I can remember when I played and it didn’t really matter if I was swinging good or bad. It was all about what my mind was telling me at the time.