Golf legend Arnold Palmer dies at 87

Golfer Arnold Palmer dies at 87

Perhaps the greatest golfer who ever lived, Arnold Palmer, has died from complications from heart failure, at the age of 87. Over his long career he revolutionized the sport of golf, won the admiration of legions of fans across multiple generations, and enjoyed a long retirement, pursuing successful business opportunities and lucrative celebrity endorsements. Palmer served in the U.S. Coast Guard as a young man (shown in the photo accompanying this post) before furthering his education and embarking on his professional career.

 

“Arnold Palmer — the pants-hitching, chain-smoking son of a greenskeeper who helped transform golf from an elite country club pursuit in to a sport for the masses, winning every major honor the game has to offer along the way — died Sunday at age 87, Palmer’s company and the U.S. Golf Association said.

Alastair Johnson, chief executive of Arnold Palmer Enterprises, told The Golf Channel — which Palmer co-founded, among his many successful business enterprises — that Palmer died Sunday afternoon from complications of heart problems. (The Golf Channel is a unit of the NBC Sports Group…” (NBCNews.com)

Learn more about Arnold Palmer’s life and career (NBCNews.com)

 

Photo: By U.S. Coast Guard [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons”