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The Big Four Tees It Up One More Time

by Jeff Skinner

This weekend there’s a special party going on in Texas.  At the Champions Tour Insperity Championship the Big Four is getting back together again.

Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Lee Trevino will tee it up on Saturday for a special event called the “Greats of Golf.”  Back in their day, these four played a brand of golf not seen on today’s tour.  The beat each other’s brains in every week, changed the face of professional golf and became lifelong friends doing it.

As Larry Dorman says in his article on PGA Tour.com there isn’t a group of golfers that comes close “For combined star power, worldwide victories, sportsmanship, contributions to golf, work ethics and showmanship, it’s peerless.”

No group of golfers ever had a larger influence on the game and it’s going to be special to see them together again.

The man who put it together is Bryan Naugle, the Executive Director of The Insperity Championship.  Click here to get the full story from Larry Dorman.

Nicklaus gives his perspective on his partners in history:  “Together or individually, they represent three of the greatest players in the history of the game. You can’t give Arnold enough credit for what he did to popularize the game of golf. He brought a whole new fan base into the game and made golf attractive to the television-viewing public. He had a look and an aggressive style of play that endeared him to the fans.

“And I have said many times that Gary Player, pound-for-pound, might be the fiercest competitor in golf. The friendship Gary and I forged through our many tournaments and many travels with Arnold as ‘The Big Three’ is perhaps the closest I share with any golfer. And to this day, I think Lee Trevino, along with Ben Hogan, are the two best ball-strikers this game has ever seen. Lee could do more with a golf ball than anyone I have ever witnessed.”

For those that think The Tiger Woods Era was the finest time in golf they should think again.  Palmer, Player, Nicklaus and Trevino were the headliners in the Golden Age of the game.  We’ll never see a collection of men of that caliber again.  But for one more afternoon we’ll get to see them walk the fairways as the Big Four once again.

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