The Army Prepares for Its Final March

There is a plaque dedicated to Arnold Palmer at Augusta National. It’s on a drinking fountain behind the 16th tee.

Palmer doesn’t have a bridge named in his honor at the famed golf course, as Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Gene Sarazen do, but then they don’t have the words that are inscribed on the plaque, describing Palmer’s four victories in the Masters:

“Arnold Palmer had changed the game of golf with those heroic charges and appreciative legions of fans formed around him. They were called ‘Arnie’s Army.’ ”

This week at the Masters, the man who marshaled that army will rally the troops one final time at his favorite course. The 74-year-old Palmer will be playing in his 50th -- and final -- Masters tournament.

Palmer has played in every Masters since his first one in 1955, but he is calling it quits after this one, because he figures it’s the right time. He hasn’t made a cut at the Masters in 20 years and even though neither his army nor any golf fans are concerned with that, he is.

“Of course it’s going to be exciting for me, and it’s going to be somewhat sentimental, but [it’s also] kind of an opportunity to say goodbye to all the fans who have been so supportive over the last 50 years and have been the reason that I have played as long as I have,” he said.

“As far as Augusta is concerned and [its being] the last time, I may be a little beyond where I should have been playing. But the fact that the tradition and Augusta was kind of built on the fact that players kept coming back year after year after year, that was one of the things that, I think, made the Masters what it is.

“I can remember when I first started playing and ... I saw people like Craig Wood and Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen and Byron Nelson and Hogan and Snead. That was important to me as a player. It was something that made Augusta different.”

And this week, for the last time, Palmer will be there as a player, his starring role for years. Besides his four victories, Palmer was second twice, third once and fourth on two other occasions.

If the Masters helped put Palmer on the map, he didn’t exactly fall down while playing his part on one of golf’s greatest stages, single-handedly vaulting the tournament into a modern-day sports spectacle and leading the charge as golf established itself as a presence on television.

“Arnold fell out of bed with charisma,” Gary Player said. “He was lucky. It’ll be a very sad day when Arnold Palmer doesn’t step up on the first tee again. Like the Chinese say, ‘Everything must pass.’ I wish they were wrong.”

There is speculation that Palmer will one day be asked to become an honorary starter at the Masters, a post that Nelson, Snead and Sarazen once held. Snead and Sarazen have died, and Nelson has since relinquished his duties. Nelson holds Palmer in high regard.

“He represents so much that is good in golf,” Nelson said. “And he has been such a terrific ambassador.”

That’s one of the reasons Palmer’s nickname is “the King.” His many loyal subjects now have one final chance to see him at the Masters, on the fairways and the greens -- and maybe in the bunkers and trees -- at Augusta National.

It promises to be a sentimental journey. The connection Palmer has enjoyed as the champion of the common man has never been broken.

Last month at the champion’s dinner at his tournament at Bay Hill, Palmer broke down after a touching toast by comedian Tom Dreesen, who served as master of ceremonies.

Said Dreesen: “Arnold Palmer, beyond any golfer who came before him, knew that after the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.”

Half a century of Masters tournaments have produced more than a boxful of moments for the King, but for the sake of taking a sentimental journey, here is a list, however subjective, of Palmer’s top 10 moments at Augusta National:

No. 1: April 4, 1958

The story: The 28-year-old Palmer already had played the Masters three times. He tied for 10th in his debut in 1955 and won $696, but after he’d tied for seventh in 1957, Palmer was given serious attention as a possible champion.

He did not disappoint. After three rounds, Palmer and Snead were tied at four-under 211, but Ken Venturi was making a charge in the fourth round when they reached the 12th hole, where Palmer’s now-infamous “embedded ball” controversy occurred.

Palmer played a second ball after a drop. He made a double-bogey five with his first ball but saved par with his second. The controversy, which flared up again with recent published excerpts from a new book by Venturi, centered on whether Palmer told the rules official he intended to play a second ball before playing it. Palmer says he did, Venturi says he didn’t.

In any event, Palmer eagled the 13th and was informed when he reached the 15th that his score of three on the 12th was good. Palmer wound up winning his first Masters title by one shot when Doug Ford and Fred Hawkins missed birdie putts at the 18th hole.

The footnote: This was the first tournament in which the term “Amen Corner” was used, coined by Herbert Warren Wind in the April 21 edition of Sports Illustrated. The name came from an old jazz recording, “Shouting at Amen Corner,” by a band under the direction of Chicago clarinetist Milton Mezzrow.

No. 2: April 10, 1960

The story: Palmer won his second Masters, only the second wire-to-wire victory at Augusta National. He joined Craig Woods, who’d done it in 1941.

Palmer, who was only two under on the par-five holes the last three rounds, defeated Venturi by one shot and Dow Finsterwald by two. Palmer sank a 30-foot putt to birdie the 17th, then knocked a six-iron hole high and left of the pin. He made that putt for another birdie.

The Masters was Palmer’s fifth victory in 1960 and he went on to win eight times, including at the U.S. Open. It was his greatest year.

The footnote: Finsterwald was assessed a two-shot penalty for making a practice putt on the fifth green on the first day, and that was the margin by which Palmer beat him.

No. 3: April 9, 1962

The story: Palmer did it the hard way when he shot 75 on the last day -- the worst final round ever by a champion -- but pulled himself together to birdie two of the last three holes, forcing the first three-way playoff in Masters history. He chipped in at the 16th and made a 15-footer at the 17th.

Going against Player and Finsterwald in an 18-hole playoff the next day, Palmer was three shots behind Player, but birdied the 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th and wound up with a 68. Player finished three shots behind, Finsterwald nine back.

Palmer won it on the back side, where he was a combined 17 under in 45 holes. On the front, he was five over. His third Masters title equaled Jimmy Demaret and Snead.

The footnote: Nathaniel “Iron Man” Avery, Palmer’s caddie, wore No. 13 on his white overalls. He’d worn the same number when he caddied for Palmer in 1960.

No. 4: April 12, 1964

The story: Palmer became the first four-time Masters champion with a masterful performance, a six-shot victory over defending champion Jack Nicklaus and Dave Marr. His 276 total was only two strokes off the then-Masters record set by Hogan in 1953.

Not only was it Palmer’s lowest score at the Masters, it was also 10 shots better than Nicklaus’ score from the previous year.

The footnote: It was Palmer’s first major title in 20 months. At 34, he had just won his last major championship.

No. 5: April 11, 1997

The story: Palmer, 67, hadn’t made the cut at the Masters since 1983, and he didn’t this time either. He shot rounds of 89-87, better than only one player, Doug Ford.

But that’s not what mattered. It was the warm reception Palmer received by an appreciative gallery, knowing that he was recovering from surgery for prostate cancer in January and grinding it out on the hilly terrain of Augusta National.

The footnote: Palmer made $5,000 for missing the cut. In his 49 Masters appearances, Palmer has made $199,013.

No. 6: April 10, 1961

The story: Just as compelling as Palmer’s charges to victory were his spectacular crashes, and this was a big one. Rain washed out the final round Sunday, postponing it to Monday, which meant Player’s four-shot lead over Palmer after 54 holes would stand up for one more day.

But Palmer turned the tables on Player and was in position to win a second consecutive Masters title when he had a one-shot lead after 17 holes with only one to go.

Then, disaster struck. Palmer drove into one bunker, knocked his second shot into another and double-bogeyed. When Player saved par after finding a greenside bunker, he had defeated Palmer and amateur Charles Coe by one shot.

The footnote: With his victory, Player became the first international champion at the Masters.

No. 7: April 11, 1965

The story: Palmer, the defending champion, trying for his fifth Masters title, shot the low round of the day on Friday, a 68, and was in prime position to make it happen, tied for the lead at the halfway point with Nicklaus and Player.

That was before Nicklaus shot a 64 on Saturday and followed it with the best round of the day on Sunday, a 69, and beat Palmer and Player by a whopping nine shots.

Palmer was two under over the last 36 holes, but Nicklaus’ then-tournament record of 17-under 271 trampled him.

The footnote: Nicklaus’ four-round total and his margin of victory were not beaten until Tiger Woods broke them in 1997.

No. 8: April 5, 1995

The story: Woods was an amateur and would not turn pro until September a year later, but this was his first Masters, with an invitation as the U.S. Amateur champion.

Before the tournament, Woods wrote to Palmer and Nicklaus, asking whether he could play a practice round with them. They agreed to a skins game, with a little money involved -- their own. On the last hole, Palmer made a birdie and collected all the skins.

Afterward, Palmer and Nicklaus said that after what they had just seen, this 19-year-old Woods kid would win more green jackets than they had together, which was 10.

The footnote: Woods followed Palmer and Nicklaus at the ninth hole of the par-three contest after they both had hit it stiff. As the crowd cheered, Woods hit it close too. Woods has not forgotten the moment: “That was a highlight, because I knew if I could handle that, I could handle the rest of the tournament. Arnold high-fives me on the green and told me, ‘Great job. You can do it.’ The tournament seemed a lot easier because of that one little moment.”

No. 9: April 5, 1959

The story: Another one that got away, partly Palmer’s fault and partly because Art Wall played the best six holes of his life. Palmer, going for his second consecutive Masters title, was tied for the lead with Stan Leonard after 54 holes. Wall was tied for 13th. But Wall birdied five of the last six holes, finished with a 66 and won by a shot. Palmer struggled to a 74 -- his worst round of the tournament -- and had to settle for third place behind Wall and Cary Middlecoff.

The footnote: Coming close was nothing unusual for Palmer. He was in the top 10 at the Masters for 11 consecutive years, from 1957 through 1967, and was either first, second or third seven times in that span.

No. 10: April 4, 1955

The story: Palmer and his wife, Winnie, drove their coral-pink Ford up Magnolia Lane as the 25-year-old U.S. Amateur champion prepared to play in the first of what would be 50 consecutive Masters tournaments. He tied for 10th.

The footnote: Hogan never really warmed up to Palmer.

“He was the soul of politeness, but as others have noted, there was a distinct coolness between us from the beginning that I still have difficulty understanding decades later,” Palmer said.