Nicknamed "The King", Palmer was one of golf's most popular stars and seen as a trailblazer, the first superstar of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s.

[1] Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player were "The Big Three" in golf during the 1960s; they are credited with popularizing and commercializing the sport around the world.

He is fifth on the Tour's all-time victory list, trailing only Sam Snead, Tiger Woods, Nicklaus, and Ben Hogan.

He also won the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, and in 1974 was one of the 13 original inductees into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

At the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, New Jersey, he built a nine-hole course and had some time to continue to hone his golf skills.

"[8] After winning that match, Palmer quit his job selling paint and played in the Waite Memorial tournament in Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pennsylvania.

Palmer's charisma was a major factor in establishing golf as a compelling television event in the 1950s and 1960s, which set the stage for the popularity it enjoys today.

[10] His first major championship win at the 1958 Masters Tournament, where he earned $11,250, established his position as one of the leading stars in golf, and by 1960 he had signed up as pioneering sports agent Mark McCormack's first client.

[10] In later interviews, McCormack listed five attributes that made Palmer especially marketable: his handsomeness; his relatively modest background (his father was a greenskeeper before rising to be club professional and Latrobe was a humble club); the way he played golf, taking risks and wearing his emotions on his sleeve; his involvement in a string of exciting finishes in early televised tournaments; and his affability.

Palmer wanted to emulate the feats of his predecessors Bobby Jones, Sam Snead and Hogan in his quest to become a leading American golfer.

Martin Slumbers, chief executive of The R&A, called Palmer "a true gentleman, one of the greatest ever to play the game and a truly iconic figure in sport".

[14] His participation in The Open Championship in the early 1960s "was the catalyst to truly internationalize golf," said European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley.

He built up a wide fan base, often referred to as "Arnie's Army", and in 1967 he became the first man to reach $1 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour.

Long after he ceased to win tournaments, Palmer remained one of the highest earners in golf due to his appeal to sponsors and the public.

[25] He retired from tournament golf on October 13, 2006, when he withdrew from the Champions Tours' Administaff Small Business Classic after four holes due to dissatisfaction with his own play.

[26] Palmer had a diverse golf-related business career, including owning the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida, which is the venue for the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational (renamed from the Bay Hill Invitational in 2007), helping to found The Golf Channel,[10][27] and negotiating the deal to build the first golf course in the People's Republic of China.

In 1997, Palmer and fellow golfer Tiger Woods initiated a civil case in an effort to stop the unauthorized sale of their images and alleged signatures in the memorabilia market.

[33] In 1974, Palmer, along with partners Mark McCormack and Don Massey, purchased a Cadillac dealership in Charlotte, North Carolina.

[43] In 2012, golf's The Big Three reunited as South African golfer Gary Player joined for the ceremonial tee shots as honorary starters for the 76th playing of the Masters Tournament.

[44] In describing the effect that Palmer had on the sport, biographer James Dodson stated: We loved him with a mythic American joy ...

[45] Palmer's grandson Sam Saunders is a professional golfer[10] who grew up playing at Bay Hill, where he won the club championship at age 15.

When he took up residence in Orlando, Palmer helped the city become a recreation destination, "turning the entire state of Florida into a golfing paradise.”[50] That included building one of the premier events on the PGA Tour there, along with his contributions to new hospitals.

[55] As a testimonial for smoking cessation products, he was depicted in a 1989 photo by Robert Straus that was subject to copyright litigation as late as 20 years later.

[56] Palmer was a Republican and donated money to Pat Toomey, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and George W. Bush.

[60] His personal website reads: Next to marrying his wife, Winnie, and deciding on a professional career in golf, there's only one decision Arnold Palmer considers smarter.

Complementing a rich history rooted in some of the earliest pioneers of aviation, the name was changed to Arnold Palmer Regional in 1999 to honor the Latrobe native golf legend who grew up less than a mile from the runway where he watched the world's first official airmail pickup in 1939 and later learned to fly himself.

[64] Palmer thought he would pilot a plane for the last time on January 31, 2011,[10] and flew from Palm Springs in California to Orlando in his Cessna Citation X.

[68] From a humble start working at the local club in his beloved Latrobe, Pennsylvania, to superstardom as the face of golf around the globe, Arnold was the American Dream come to life... Today, Michelle and I stand with Arnie's Army in saluting the King.

Less than a week after Palmer died, his life was celebrated by both teams at the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, just outside the Twin Cities.

So it is fitting that we pay tribute to Mr. Palmer during the 41st Ryder Cup, to celebrate it in a very special way, the life of an unforgettable champion and gracious ambassador of the game.