Love pours in for golf legend Arnold Palmer

By Shaili Chopra He was part of golf’s trinity. The demigods of the game. Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus are golf’s greatest golfers who came together …

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Masters champions from left, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Arnold Palmer tour Amen Corner at Augusta National Golf Club on Tuesday April 8, 2014.

By Shaili Chopra

He was part of golf’s trinity. The demigods of the game. Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus are golf’s greatest golfers who came together for a ceremonial tee off at The Masters every year. I was fortunate to meet Palmer at his summer Latrobe in Pittsburg. We lunched at the Arnold Palmer club, sipping an Arnold Palmer while Palmer himself was lunching at the next table. Could I say he was partly surreal, partly exhilarating. The winner of seven major championships, the one who donned the green jacket, whose name launched many brands including the eponymous lemonade – It’s one thing to see him do the ceremonial tee-off with Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus at the Augusta Masters and totally different to spend a day with him.

“It’s a Big Loss for the Game to lose ‘The King’. He was the first real superstar of Golf,” says golfer Chiragh Kumar. “He made a big impact on changing the perception of the game. With 7 Majors and 62 PGA Tour wins (please check) he was definitely one of the greatest. Will miss his inaugural tee off at the Masters which I use to stay up to watch!”

 

 

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