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LIGONIER -- He was, without a doubt, one of the greatest athletes of the past 50 years. Not just one of the greatest golfers of his time but one of the best well-known and best-loved of any athlete that has ever competed on the world stage of sports. What he did for the sport of golf will never be matched. He brought the game of golf, once limited to the rich and famous, to the masses. His actions may be equaled but his actions will never be surpassed. He did more for golf than any other athlete, next to what Babe Ruth did for baseball, and for that the world will forever be indebted to the legendary Arnold Palmer. At age 75, Palmer may have made his swan song at the 66th Senior PGA Golf Tournament, appropriately held at his own Laurel Valley Country Club, a mere 10 miles from his home. And that would be tough to take for the man who had his own army. The name for Palmer's intensely loyal legions of fans -- "Arnie's Army" -- originated at the 1958 Masters. Soldiers from a nearby Army base attended, and nearly all supported Palmer, many holding homemade signs to show their support. The name "Arnie's Army" stuck. But for a man who won two PIAA state golf championships on the Penn State White Course in 1946 and 1947, Father Time is slowly but surely creeping up on the legendary figure. It's hard to watch Arnie play a round of golf with that hitch ever so present in a golfer racked with the pain of competing in the game he loves against many so much younger than he. Following Friday's round of the Senior PGA event, in which Palmer missed the cut with a two-day score of 168 (82-86) that included a mere two birdies, Arnie admitted that he merely plays the game of golf now for exercise. Hard to imagine the fire is slowly dwindling from the man who always adhered to the "go for it" style of play when he needed a shot to give him a chance to win a tournament. "I like to get out in the air and I like to walk," Palmer explained of where his golf game is at this stage of his life. "Well, I feel good. I'm tired. It's a long walk. I haven't been playing tournaments and to walk as much as I did today, it works on you." It's hard to imagine a man of Palmer's stature explaining where his golf game has tumbled over the years. Is he merely a symbol that brings fans to the tournaments to see one more time, the living legend? No matter how he played at the Senior PGA Tournament in his own backyard, the overflow crowds where there to see the King one more time. But hopefully not for the last time. Truth be told this was probably the last event that will be held in Arnie's Backyard for the general public to see. "Oh, if it weren't for the support the gallery gives me, I wouldn't be here," Palmer said of his play following Friday's round. "I would be watching. They are wonderful. They are very supportive. And of course they make it fun for me." No one knows if this was his swan song from the game he loved and brought many along with him for the glorious ride of emotion and so much exhilaration. |