Arnold Palmer: Celebrate “The King”

Its Arnie’s Week as the PGA Tour makes its annual visit to the home of The King. The Arnold Palmer Invitational is one of the most admired stops in a long season of golf.

Arnie draws player after player to his winter home at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge and gets a solid field for one reason and one reason only: Arnold Palmer.

He’s The King and players recognize that. If it wasn’t for Arnold Palmer there would be no Golf Channel, there would be no million dollar winner’s check, there would be no 52 week plus PGA Tour season and Earl Woods would probably have taught Tiger to shoot pool or play tennis.

Without Arnie not only would the golf landscape be different but the sports landscape would look significantly different.

Palmer was Mark McCormick’s first client and he based his future company, IMG on Arnie’s back. No Arnie and who knows how the world of endorsements would look today.

One of the major perks of playing at Bay Hill is that Arnie’s isn’t an absentee owner. He’s there in the flesh welcoming all the players and it’s much the same story when the tour isn’t there.

We hear story after story of Bay Hill guests being greeted by Arnie year round. And of course he never turned down an autograph request. A handshake, a photo, and a few words of encouragement…that’s what you get from Arnie no matter where you meet him. That’s why he’s The King.

Arnie is the man of the week and here are some links to some of the great reads on the web. Click away and see why Arnie gets all the love.

Alan Shipnuck tells us of a new book by Michael Bamberger that gives Shipnuck “a new appreciation for the man and the myth that is Arnold Palmer.” 

PGA Tour.com has a great collection of stories of “Meeting The King” for the first time.   My favorite story comes from Jason Gore who as a kid walked into Arnie’s Latrobe Country Club and asked for Arnie. The next thing he knows he is talking to Arnie and watching him hit balls.

Here’s a nice photo album of Arnie through the years and another one here. 

Oh yea, there is a tournament going on this week and here are the tee times.

And if you missed the “Arnie and Me” special on The Golf Channel last night it is on this afternoon at 4:00pm and 10:00pm tonight. It’s worth it.

Here’s a clip from “Arnie and Me” of Peyton Manning who may challenge Arnie for most endorsement contracts.