The Nine Most Eagerly Awaited New Golf Courses Of 2017

The bucket list mentality is strong with golfers. Sure, the majority of golf is played locally, but that doesn’t change the fact that the diehards among us can’t wait to hear about the next great course or destination.

The unvarnished truth is that the golf industry continues to go through a period of natural correction, with annual course closures far outweighing openings since the boom years of development over-saturated a lot of markets. What that means, though, is that new courses tend to be something truly special, with great design, terrific location or both. In 2016, for example, we were introduced to remarkable courses such as Mossy Oak in Mississippi, the reversible Loop in Michigan, and Trinity Forest in Dallas.

Below are nine courses opening in 2017 that U.S. golfers should know about, from the Allegheny mountains of rural Pennsylvania to a sprawling, operational cattle ranch in Oregon.

Stoatin Brae (Michigan)

Stoatin Brae, the newest course at Gull Lake View Resort in Michigan, features a broad landscape of hills and dales covered in native grasses, colorful wildflowers and sprawling sand bunkers. (Photo Credit: Stoatin Brae)

Stoatin Brae, the newest course at Gull Lake View Resort in Michigan, features a broad landscape of hills and dales covered in native grasses, colorful wildflowers and sprawling sand bunkers. (Photo Credit: Stoatin Brae)

One of the nation’s biggest golf resorts is expanding to 108 holes, with Gull Lake View Golf Club & Resort in Southwest Michigan opening its sixth course (Stoatin Brae) this year. To transform the rolling contours of a former apple orchard high above the Kalamazoo River Valley into a minimalist Scottish-style golf course, ownership turned to the Michigan-based Renaissance Design team managed by Tom Doak. Stoatin Brae means “grand hill” in Scottish Gaelic and the elevation of the property means the ever-changing wind patterns can change not just day-to-day, but hour-to-hour.

Shepherd’s Rock (Pennsylvania)

Shepherd's Rock will become Pete Dye's second course at the Nemacolin Resort in Pennsylvania when it opens this July. (Photo credit: Nemacolin Resort)

Shepherd’s Rock will become Pete Dye’s second course at the Nemacolin Resort in Pennsylvania when it opens this July. (Photo credit: Nemacolin Resort)
Pete Dye keeps plugging along at age 91. On July 12, he’ll open a second course at the luxurious Nemacolin Woodlands Resort in southwestern Pennsylvania, as Shepherd’s Rock joins his celebrated Mystic Rock course that’s ranked among the top 100 public courses in the country. Built on rolling terrain atop the Allegheny Mountains, the front nine is tree-lined and will require precision and accuracy while the back nine is more brawny; wide open with impressive vistas of the Laurel Highlands. In true Dye fashion, there will be rippling fairways, man-made mounds, plenty of wetlands and well-protected greens.

The Summit Club (Las Vegas)

An artist's rendering of The Summit just outside Las Vegas. (Photo credit: The Summit Club)

An artist’s rendering of The Summit just outside Las Vegas. (Photo credit: The Summit Club)

The private Summit Club will be the centerpiece of a luxury community (253 homes) in Summerlin, just 15 minutes from the Las Vegas Strip. The 18-hole layout designed by Tom Fazio is set to open in the spring, but will only be available to homeowners who pay upwards of $2 million to live in yet another impressive Discovery Land project. Beyond the spectacular desert golf and the proximity to downtown Vegas, the club’s on-course comfort stations feature treats from a margarita machine and tacos to homemade ice cream sandwiches.

Bayou Oaks Golf Course (Louisiana)

Bayou Oaks is a new $24 million municipal golf course in New Orleans that replaced two 18-hole city park layouts that were badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina. (Photo credit: The Bayou District Foundation)

Bayou Oaks is a new $24 million municipal golf course in New Orleans that replaced two 18-hole city park layouts that were badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina. (Photo credit: The Bayou District Foundation)

The new Bayou Oaks Golf Course in New Orleans City Park, which is scheduled to open in the spring, replaces 36 holes that were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The new championship-level course, which joins an existing 18-hole layout (The North Course), was designed by architect Rees Jones with aspirations that at some point it could host the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic. It’s a municipal course designed in the same category as a Bethpage Black or Torrey Pines. Bayou Oaks incorporates portions of the former East and West courses and includes historic oak trees and existing lagoons that are characteristic of the park. Perhaps most significantly, a portion of revenues will go toward helping schools and children in the local community.

Top of The Rock – Gary Player Short Course (Missouri)

(Photo credit: Big Cedar Lodge)

The Gary Player Short Course at Big Cedar Lodge is set to open this spring. (Photo credit: Big Cedar Lodge)

Johnny Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops, continues to expand his impressive Big Cedar Lodge property with a Gary Player short course that will open this spring. The layout, designed as a more accessible experience for families, juniors and newcomers to the game, is a collection of par-3 and par-4 holes. It joins the eye-popping par-3 Top of The Rock course (Jack Nicklaus design) and the championship Buffalo Ridge course (Tom Fazio) at Big Cedar Lodge. The family-friendly getaway in the Ozarks is also adding an 18-hole Coore/Crenshaw course in 2018.

Silvies Valley Ranch –   (Oregon)

The two 18-hole reversible layouts at Silvies Valley were named to honor two Pioneer families who homesteaded the site. (Photo credit: Silvies Valley Ranch)

The two 18-hole reversible layouts at Silvies Valley were named to honor two Pioneer families who homesteaded the site. (Photo credit: Silvies Valley Ranch)

This is the most unique new golf facility of 2017, with two reversible 18-hole courses built on a property with 27 greens (nine are shared). Silvies Valley Ranch will truly be a one-of-a-kind golf experience, as the Dan Hixson designed Hankins and Craddock courses are part of a 140,000-acre working cattle ranch and resort. The course direction will be reversed each day once it opens in July, and there’s more to come. Later this year, the Western retreat will open a fun 8-hole course of par-3 and par-4 holes carved into a steep-sided, narrow ridge of land (a razorback) that’s called McVeigh’s Gauntlet.

Sand Valley – (Wisconsin)

Sand Valley pays homage to the great heathland courses of London like Sunningdale, Swinley Forest, Walton Heath and St. George's Hill. (Photo credit: Sand Valley)

Sand Valley pays homage to the great heathland courses of London like Sunningdale, Swinley Forest, Walton Heath and St. George’s Hill. (Photo credit: Sand Valley)

Mike Keiser found a recipe that works, bringing destination golf to the Oregon coast (Bandon Dunes) and Nova Scotia (Cabot Links). In May, Keiser unveils his latest project amid more than 1,700 acres of sand dunes in Central Wisconsin. The first course at Sand Valley, designed by the team of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, brings the big, bold playing style of a seaside links to the nation’s heartland. The layout is routed through meandering ridges and valleys, and a second course by David McLay Kidd is already in the works for the property.

Streamsong – Black Course (Florida)

The grow-in process at Streamsong Black, which will be open this autumn. (Photo credit: Nile Young)

The grow-in process at Streamsong Black, which will be open this autumn. (Photo credit: Nile Young)

The first two courses at Streamsong — Blue and Red — quickly ensconced themselves in Top 100 rankings and now the resort’s highly anticipated third course is set to debut this fall. Built by architect Gil Hanse, the designer of the 2016 Olympic course in Rio de Janeiro, the par-73 Black course is an expansive and strategic layout spread across rolling, sandy terrain that is reminiscent of the Sand Belt of Australia. Streamsong may be located in Florida, but the resort delivers a golf experience like none other you’ll find in the state.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Dazante Bay (Mexico)

The 17th hole at Dazante Bay is a stunner of a par-3, playing downhill to a peninsula green that sits high above the Sea of Cortez. (Photo credit: Dazante Bay)

The 17th hole at Dazante Bay is a stunner of a par-3, playing downhill to a peninsula green that sits high above the Sea of Cortez. (Photo credit: Dazante Bay)

Okay, this one isn’t in the U.S., but it’s not that far away either. Dazante Bay, which is located in Loreto on the Baja Peninsula (about a two-hour flight from Los Angeles), opened 11 holes last year and the course is set to have all 18 holes ready for play in fall of 2017. Architect Rees Jones was given a remarkable piece of property and impressively incorporated desert, dunes, mountain, valley and water holes. The most notable is the stunning par-3 17th, which plays downhill to a green perched on a peninsula green 250 feet above the Sea of Cortez. Jones says he believes No. 17 will be considered one of the best holes in the world and it’s hard to argue when you’ve seen the photos.

 

SOURCE: FORBES

D. Johnson becomes world No. 1 with Genesis win

SOURCE: GOLF CHANNEL

Jordan Spieth finds pace at Genesis Open before a rained out second round

Jordan Spieth nearly escaped the rain in Los Angeles at the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club with a full 18 holes of play in Round 2 on Friday. Instead, he only got 16 of the 18 in before rain washed out the day, but he played them almost flawlessly in brutal conditions (downright apocalyptic for Los Angeles).

Spieth moved up 28 slots on the leaderboard to T4, and at 5 under, he trails leaders Jhonattan Vegas and Sam Saunders by just two strokes. Spieth made an early bogey on his third hole of the day (No. 12 on the course) before playing the final 13 pretty much perfectly.

His wildest shot of the day probably came on the par-3 sixth hole when he hit a tee shot that looked like it was going off the back of the green before spinning all the way back to 15 feet. Spieth centered up the putt for birdie No. 4 on the day.

Spieth’s streak into the weekend should not come as a surprise. He almost won this tournament back in 2015 and is coming off a win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last week. He has not finished outside the top 10 at a PGA Tour event this calendar year so far.

He has had only one round at Riviera over 72 (a bizarre 79 in Round 1 last year). In addition to all of this, Spieth’s Texas Longhorns won the NCAA national title at Riviera back in 2012. There are certainly good vibes when it comes to The Riv.

Spieth found his putting stroke a little on Friday after a ho-hum 69 in Round 1. If he can find birdies at both of his final two holes when players return to the course on Saturday morning, he can tie the lead early on the weekend (something he has been quite familiar with over the course of his young career).

Round 2 at Riviera will resume at 10 a.m. Eastern on Saturday.

SOURCE: CBS 

Justin Thomas closes with 4-under 69, wins Tournament of Champions

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Justin Thomas kept reminding himself that a one-shot lead with two holes to play is never a bad place to be on the PGA Tour.

Ignoring that his five-shot lead was nearly gone against Hideki Matsuyama, Thomas thought more about the great golf that had put him in this position Sunday at the SBS Tournament of Champions. He responded by hitting an 8-iron from 214 yards on a downhill lie that was so pure he stopped to admire it before it landed.

It plopped down in front of the pin and settled 3 feet away. Thomas birdied the hole. Matsuyama three-putted for bogey, and Thomas was on his way to a comfortable victory at Kapalua that moved him into the conversation of golf’s young stars.

“The best shot I hit this week,” Thomas said. “There’s a tree that’s a little slanted, and it’s a perfect aiming point. I just kind of aimed it there and made sure I held onto the club, if anything, to make sure my miss was right. … And really, I just flushed it. As soon as it came off, I knew it was going to be perfect.”

Matsuyama, going after his fourth straight victory worldwide, knew he needed to make his 30-foot birdie putt to stay in the game. He ran it 8 feet by, missed the par putt coming back and was out of chances when Thomas hammered another tee shot on the par-5 18th.

Thomas closed with a two-putt birdie for a 4-under 69 and a three-shot victory, his second win of the PGA Tour season that moved him to No. 12 in the world. His other two PGA Tour titles were at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.

“I think it’s potentially floodgates opening,” said Jordan Spieth, Thomas’ best friend in golf since they were teenagers. “The guy hits it forever. He’s got a really, really nifty short game. He manages the course well. He’s playing the golf course the way it should be played, and honestly, he’s taking advantage of the easier holes.

“It’s awesome to see,” Spieth said. “He’s going to be tough to beat next week, too.”

Spieth closed with a 65 and tied for third with Pat Perez (67) and Ryan Moore(71).

Matsuyama, who made two soft bogeys on the front nine to fall five shots behind, made it more of a game than anyone expected. The 24-year-old from Japan holed a flop shot for eagle on the 14th hole, and then Thomas hooked a 4-iron into the hazard on the par-5 15th hole and made double-bogey.

Just like that, Thomas went from a five-shot lead to a one-shot lead, and Matsuyama had a 10-foot birdie putt on the 16th to tie for the lead. The putt narrowly missed, and Thomas answered with his 8-iron for birdie to end it. Matsuyama closed with a 70.

“My putter let me down there at 16, 17 and 18,” Matsuyama said. “I tipped my hat to Justin. He played well all day long.”

Thomas is the only player to beat Matsuyama over the last three months. In his last six tournaments worldwide, Matsuyama had four victories and a pair of runner-up finishes — both to Thomas, in Kuala Lumpur and Kapalua.

Thomas, who finished at 22-under 270, said his immediate thoughts were booking a return trip to Kapalua next year for the winners-only event.

“It changes things going forward because I know I’m coming back here,” Thomas said.

The scenery down the 18th toward the blue Pacific, where humpback whales spent the afternoon breeching and splashing their tails, was even better because Thomas’ parents were watching him win for the first time. His father, Mike Thomas, is a longtime head pro in Harmony Landing in Kentucky who is still his coach.

Spieth and Jimmy Walker came down to the 18th to congratulate the winner.

Thomas started the final round with a two-shot lead and no one got closer until his blunder on the 15th. One of the longest hitters in golf despite his slight build, Thomas really didn’t miss a shot until the ninth hole, and that’s when he got a huge break.

With the wind stiff and in his face, he got quick with his driver and hit a snap-hook into the knee-high weeds left of the fairway. He hit a provisional for a lost ball and was about ready to abandon the search when a TV spotter was summoned to give an indication where it went. They found the ball, and it was sitting up a few inches above some roots, allowing Thomas to at least hack out into the fairway.

He followed with a 3-wood onto the green for a two-putt par after starting with a shot that made double-bogey appear likely.

Thomas wasn’t so fortunate on the 15th.

“I stumbled more than I would have liked to do,” Thomas said. “But it shows where my game is at right now. I had some woes there, but I stuck it out to still get it done.”

SOURCE: ESPN

Tiger Woods signs deal to play Bridgestone golf balls

Bridgestone Golf announced this morning that 79-time PGA Tour winner and 14-time major champion Tiger Woods has signed a multi-year agreement to exclusively play and promote its golf balls.

Woods, who spent 683 weeks as the top-ranked golfer in the world, will play the Bridgestone Tour B330-S ball after thoroughly testing it against competing models from all major brands.

“Finding the right golf ball is extremely important,” Woods said in a press release. “It’s an essential part of my equipment, and the Bridgestone B330-S ball is hands-down the best for my game. Controlling launch and trajectory is critical, and with this ball I feel I have total control to hit all shots accurately. I’m not just here to play — I’m here to win, and the innovative breakthroughs of the Bridgestone B330-S ball can help me do that.”

RELATED: Tiger Woods commits to play Genesis Open in February | Tiger’s new short course

“No one spends more time perfecting their equipment than Tiger Woods, and no one holds their equipment to a higher standard,” said Angel Ilagan, President and CEO of Bridgestone Golf. “His choice of Bridgestone sends a clear message that our golf balls are superior to all others.”

As part of the partnership, Woods will be featured in digital, social, print and broadcast marketing globally as a Bridgestone Golf ambassador.

Woods will also support the popular Bridgestone ball-fitting program, which he believes can stimulate a new generation of golfers and increase enjoyment for all players.

“Bridgestone wants to make golf easier for everyone,” said Woods. “Knowing that every golfer’s game and swing is unique, it works to match each individual with the best ball for his or her game. If you’re not switching to Bridgestone, you’re missing out on better scores and a better experience.”

T.J. Auclair is a Senior Interactive Producer for PGA.com and has covered professional golf since 1998, traveling to over 60 major championships. You can follow him on Twitter, @tjauclair.

Mass. maker of Titleist golf equipment ready for $435 million IPO

By Dan Adams GLOBE STAFF  

A new symbol will soon scroll across the New York Stock Exchange ticker: GOLF, representing Fairhaven-based Acushnet Holdings Corp., maker of Titleist golf balls and other golf equipment and apparel.

The initial public offering next week — hinted at for more than a year — will peg the market value of Acushnet at around $1.7 billion. The offering is expected to raise roughly $435 million with the sale of 19.3 million shares priced between $21 and $24. Previous investors, not the company, will reap the proceeds.

Thanks to a series of related transactions in advance of the offering, the majority of voting shares will be retained by Fila Korea Ltd., which has owned Acushnet since 2011.

A spokeswoman for Acushnet, which was founded in 1910, declined to comment, citing a legally mandated “quiet period” in advance of the IPO.

Acushnet operates golf-ball manufacturing plants in New Bedford and Dartmouth and said it employs about 5,200 full-time workers worldwide, including 1,500 at a glove factory in Thailand. Federal filings indicate the company lost $1 million last year on $1.5 billion in sales of products under several brands it owns, including Titleist and FootJoy Golf Wear.

The offering comes in a year that has seen a substantial reduction in the number of IPOs in the United States: Just 85 have priced so far this year, down from 170 last year and 275 in 2014, according to Renaissance Capital. In Massachusetts, most of the 10 IPOs by local companies so far this year were by life sciences and technology firms; Acushnet’s would be the first by a consumer goods outfit.

Kathleen Smith, the manager of IPO-focused exchange-traded funds at Renaissance, said the slowdown is largely attributable to private companies with high valuations that are proving to be a tough sell on Wall Street.

“Investors right now are very cautious about overpaying,” Smith said. “That makes [IPOs] hard for companies that don’t want to admit they’re not worth as much as they think they are on the private market.”

Smith said investors may be drawn to Acushnet’s IPO by Titleist, one of the most iconic brands in the $8.7 billion golf industry. On the other hand, she noted, the sport itself is in a decline, and other companies such as Nike and Adidas have pivoted away from golf equipment following successive years of declining sales. Golfsmith, a major retailer and Acushnet customer, declared bankruptcy last month.

“The industry is not that robust, so you need to have a strong relationship with diehard golfers,” Smith said. “Acushnet has good brands, and that’s important.”

Just 24.1 million people in the United States played at least one round of golf last year, according to the National Golf Foundation, down from 30 million in 2005.

Enthusiasm is even lower among those 18 to 34 years old, a group whose participation dropped 30 percent over the past two decades. A majority of youth surveyed by the NGF called golf “boring.” And while the number of people trying golf for the first time is rising, few of those players come back for a second helping.

Observers cite a confluence of factors in explaining golf’s subpar performance, including the lack of a new Tiger Woods-level star, the suburban location of most courses in an era of urbanization, and the length of games. They also speculate that the high cost, reputation for exclusivity, and stuffy traditions of the sport are particular turnoffs for younger players.

In response, some operators are trying to jazz up their offerings. Woods himself recently opened a beginner-friendly section at his Bluejack National club in Texas, where groups can play under lights at night, blast music, and wander from hole to hole in any order. The course, called “The Playgrounds,” also lacks any rough or brush, an attempt to reduce the time spent poking around for lost balls.

SOURCE: BOSTON GLOBE

A fragile Tiger Woods taking his time to return to professional golf

NAPA, Calif. — The comeback is on hold, along with a sobering admission from Tiger Woods. His game is “vulnerable” and not yet ready for competition. And perhaps not for prime time viewing, either.

How much this has to do with Woods’ own insecurities about his game and how it might look are all part of the complex package you get when dealing with someone who was so stunningly good for so long and who is now faced with being far away from those dizzying heights of greatness.

“After a lot of soul-searching and honest reflection, I know that I am not yet ready to play on the PGA Tour or compete in Turkey,” Woods said on his website. “My health is good, and I feel strong, but my game is vulnerable and not where it needs to be.”

That Woods, 40, would be so blunt as to his own deficiencies right now is jarring, even knowing that the 14-time major winner has been through a significant amount of pain and a slow rehabilitation from two surgeries late in 2015.

It was Woods, after all, who opened up the door to this return, saying more than a month ago that he “hoped” to be back this week at the Safeway Open but also noting that he had a lot of work to do in that period to get ready.

The Ryder Cup — where he was a vice captain in Minnesota — and Hurricane Matthew near his South Florida home didn’t help from a preparation standpoint. Neither was a Tiger Woods Foundation event on Monday and Tuesday a couple of hours down the road from here at Pebble Beach, where he was the host of a big fundraiser.

And yet with all those distractions, Woods officially committed to the Safeway Open on Friday — only to pull out three days later.

The timing is odd and has led to numerous conspiracy theories about his motives. It certainly is not helped by the lack of information about his rehabilitation, his practice routine or how much golf he has played.

Notah Begay, Woods’ long-time friend who also works as an analyst for Golf Channel, said Monday that the golfer had only begun hitting drivers in earnest six weeks ago. And yet Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, said way back in April that Woods had worked that club back into his practice routine at that point.

He was hitting drivers during a clinic, a full-out practice session and a five-hole outing when he opened up his Bluejack National golf course design in Houston later that month, but the information about his practice pretty much dried up afterward. Woods said in June that he had yet to put multiple days of golf together.

“There are no physical complications at all,” Steinberg said Monday. “I don’t know if it’s mental or just (his) golf game. He hasn’t played competitive golf in 14 months now. As he’s worked at his game of late, he just felt it wasn’t up to the quality necessary to compete right now.”

Why Woods felt his game was OK on Friday but not on Monday is just another in a long line of mysteries surrounding the golfer, who has endured three back surgeries and four knee operations in a career that used to routinely see him rebound from layoffs, maladies and even arthroscopic procedures.

But the back surgeries have been a different deal. Throw in his well-documented chipping woes from early in 2015 and it shows just how many pieces have to be put back together.

Woods said that his first holes of golf came in April — eight months after he had tied for 10th at the Wyndham Championship. Even there, Woods had swing issues that needed to be addressed, and they weren’t magically going to be cured when he first picked up a club again.

So there were the physical problems to overcome, a work-in-progress swing and short-game issues, just to start. Then came the ability to practice and play regularly. Throw in the mental side of putting it all together and we have perhaps what has never been associated with Woods — fragility.

Those seven days at the Ryder Cup didn’t help his preparation, but they certainly were a boost to his competitiveness.

“It gave him even more energy: ‘Man, I want to be back in the locker room,”’ Steinberg said. “It lit even more of a fire for him. But when he realized that his game just wasn’t there, it was very frustrating.”

Steinberg said Woods felt he didn’t believe it was “appropriate” to make his return at the Turkish Airlines Open, a European Tour event. It was out of “respect for the PGA Tour” that he is skipping that tournament abroad next month, not some doom and gloom scenario that keeps him from being ready then.

Of course, there are other PGA Tour events after that and before the Hero World Challenge in December in the Bahamas, where Woods hosts the annual tournament for his foundation.

Perhaps he sees a softer opening for himself in the Bahamas. Woods has a home in the resort community of Albany on New Providence in The Bahamas and knows Albany Golf Course, one that is relatively benign. The tournament features just 18 players, but it was at the same event — one he has won five times — played in Orlando two years ago where he tied for last.

The good news is Woods now has another two months to prepare. He’ll have the various corporate and foundation duties that take up his time, but there should be plenty of room for repetitive rounds of golf, recovery and practice.

The next step then is tournament golf, ugly or not. At some point, Woods needs to jump back between the ropes, take a few hits and learn to cope with the game on a level he made look so easy for so long.

If not December, then when?

SOURCE: ESPN

United States takes victory in rowdy Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup is back in the hands of the Americans.

For the first time since 2008, the United States defeated Europe in the biennial golfing showdown Sunday.

Ryan Moore two-putted on No. 18 for a 1-up victory over Lee Westwood, giving the Americans a 15-10 lead that sealed the overall win.

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The victory completed a two-year soul search for the Americans after they were routed in Gleneagles for a third straight defeat. They formed a task force to address the shortcomings and delivered an emphatic performance at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

Ahead of the final day of competition, the PGA of America pleaded with the raucous crowd to be respectful of all participants.

The PGA issued a statement Sunday saying security staff would remove any fans who “are disruptive in any way, including the use of vulgar or profane language directed at the players.”

Galleries of more than 50,000 packed the golf course over the first two days of the event and made their voices heard as they backed the Americans.

Europe’s Rory McIlroy was at the center of much of the heckling, and he responded forcefully after making big shots. Patrick Reed hit the tape ahead of McIlroy for a 1-up win in the first — and arguably most contested — match of the day.

In other matches, Rickie Fowler edged Justin Rose, Brandt Snedeker beat Andy Sullivan, and Brooks Koepka routed Danny Willett.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

SOURCE: ESPN

Arnold Palmer: ‘The King’ of golf dies at 87

Arnold Palmer was the telegenic golfer who took a staid sport to TV and to the masses

Before accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedomin 2004, Arnold Palmer shared a few laughs with President George W. Bush and gave the commander in chief a few golf tips in the East Room of the White House.

Five years later, when honored with the Congressional Gold Medal, Palmer, who again offered golf tips to some of the most important politicians in the country, jokingly thanked the House and the Senate for being able to agree on something.

After receiving the highest civilian awards given in the United States, Palmer went outside each day, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the U.S. Capitol, and signed autographs for hundreds of people.

That was Palmer, a man who connected with the masses, who related to kids, the hourly wage employee, the CEO — and Presidents.

Palmer, who died Sunday in Pittsburgh at age 87, according to a statement from the USGA, was the accessible common man who would become the King and lead his own army. Along the way he became one of the sport’s best players and a successful businessman, philanthropist, trailblazing advertising spokesman, talented golf course designer and experienced aviator.

While his approach on the course was not a model of aesthetics — the whirlybird followthrough, the pigeon-toed putting stance — it worked for him. With thick forearms and a thin waist, Palmer had an aggressive risk-reward approach to golf that made for compelling theater. He hit the ball with authority and for distance and ushered in an aggressive, hitch-up-your-trousers, go-for-broke, in-your-face power game rarely seen in the often stoic and staid sport.

Palmer, part of the alluring “Big Three,” with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, won 62 titles on the PGA Tour, his last coming in the 1973 Bob Hope Desert Classic. Among those victories were four at the Masters, two at the British Open and one at the U.S. Open. He finished second in the U.S. Open four times, was runner-up three times in the PGA Championship, the only major that eluded him, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.

Palmer became one of the best known sports figures and, at 5-10, 175, a telegenic golfer who burst out of black-and-white television sets across the country in the late 1950s and into the 1960s and took the game to the masses.

“Arnold meant everything to golf. Are you kidding me?” Tiger Woods said. “I mean, without his charisma, without his personality in conjunction with TV — it was just the perfect symbiotic growth. You finally had someone who had this charisma, and they’re capturing it on TV for the very first time.

“Everyone got hooked to the game of golf via TV because of Arnold.”

Friend to Presidents

Palmer won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour four times, played on six Ryder Cup teams and was captain twice.

He received virtually every national award in golf and was the “Athlete of the Decade” for the 1960s in a national Associated Press poll. Palmer, who helped found the Golf Channel decades later, also helped usher in the Champions Tour, where he won 10 times, including five majors.

 

He was a magnetic star who attracted legions of fans who had never played golf as the television boon exploded across the land.

Those fans included U.S. presidents.

Dwight Eisenhower, who loved golf, was one of Palmer’s best friends. Richard Nixonasked Palmer about the Vietnam War. Palmer played golf with both Presidents Bush.

Eisenhower painted Palmer’s picture — as did Norman Rockwell. There is a drink named in Palmer’s honor, as well as an airport, a golf tournament, hospitals, streets, charity initiatives and 19th-hole grill rooms.

And from start to finish, Palmer signed as many autographs, posed for as many pictures, chatted with as many fans in the galleries as any golfer who hit a golf ball.

“There are two things that made golf appealing to the average man — Arnold Palmer and the invention of the mulligan,” actor/comedian and good friend Bob Hope once said.

Palmer was a folk hero with a driver in his hand and a handshake after the round. From 2007 through 2015, he served as the honorary starter for the Masters, creating one of the best moments of the tournament every year on Thursday morning.

“Arnold Palmer was the everyday man’s hero,” Nicklaus said. “From the modest upbringing, Arnold embodied the hard-working strength of America.”

Origins of ‘Arnie’s Army’

Palmer was the oldest of four children born to Deacon and Doris Palmer. He received his first set of golf clubs from his father, who worked at Latrobe Country Club from 1921 until his death in 1976. Growing up near the sixth tee of the club, Palmer learned the grip and the swing from his father, as well as manners, empathy, integrity and respect.

Palmer worked nearly every job at the club before heading to Wake Forest University, where he became one of the top collegiate players. But when his close friend, Bud Worsham, was killed in a car accident, Palmer quit school and enlisted for a three-year hitch in the U.S. Coast Guard.

While stationed in Cleveland, his passion for golf was rekindled. Then, while working as a paint salesman, Palmer quickly got his game back in order and won the 1954 U.S. Amateur Championship. On Nov. 18, 1954, at 25, he turned pro and signed a contract with Wilson Sporting Goods.

His greatest stretch of golf began in 1960 and lasted four years, with Palmer winning six major championships and 29 titles on the PGA Tour. It was in 1960, at the Masters in Augusta, Ga., that a local newspaper coined the phrase “Arnie’s Army,” when soldiers from nearby Camp Gordon followed Palmer. Soon, non-uniformed fans across the land enlisted.

Palmer’s defining moment, one that embedded the word “charge” into the minds of his adoring fans, came in the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills. Palmer had won the Masters two months earlier, with birdies on the final two holes to edge Ken Venturi by one shot. But Palmer began the final round of the Open seven strokes and 14 players behind and was told by Bob Drum of The Pittsburgh Press that he was too far behind to win.

Angered by the remark, Palmer drove the first green 346 yards away and made the first of four consecutive birdies. He added birdies on the sixth and seventh and shot a final-round 65 to complete the comeback victory.

A month later, Palmer made a pilgrimage to St. Andrews for the British Open, and his presence helped salvage the game’s oldest championship and elevated it back among the game’s best tournaments.

In all, Palmer won eight times in 1960, the year he signed with pioneering sports agent Mark McCormack and quickly became a marketing giant for products ranging from golf equipment to jackets and slacks to automobile oil and rental cars. Palmer became the first professional golfer to earn $1 million for his career. Even into his 80s he was pulling in an estimated $20 million per year.

“Arnold was the epitome of a superstar,” fellow Hall of Famer Raymond Floyd said. “He set the standard for how superstars in every sport ought to be, in the way he has always signed autographs, in the way he has always made time for everyone. On the golf course, all I ever saw was a mass of people. He was able to focus in on everyone in the gallery individually. It wasn’t fake.

“And man, could he play the game.”

Giving back through charities

But as dramatic as his victories were, so, too, were Palmer’s losses in majors.

In 1961 he lost the Masters by one stroke when he made double-bogey on the 72nd hole after accepting premature congratulations from a friend to the right side of the 18th fairway.

Palmer lost three playoffs in the U.S. Open, to Nicklaus in 1962, Julius Boros in 1963 and Billy Casper in 1966, when Palmer blew a seven-shot lead with nine holes to play in regulation.

But the masses never deserted him. Palmer’s appeal was so large, so wide that he even gave origin to a beverage that soon became a hit across the land. One of his favorite drinks was a mixture of iced tea and lemonade.

It is now available in grocery stores and is simply called the Arnold Palmer.

“A guy came up to the bar, and he ordered an Arnold Palmer, and the barman knew what that drink was,” three-time major champion Padraig Harrington recalled about a visit to an Indian restaurant in Orlando in 2009. “Now that’s getting to another level. Think about it, you don’t go up there and order a Tiger Woods at the bar.

“When the guy ordered it, I thought, maybe you could do it in a golf club, but he’s ordered it in a random bar. And the guy, who probably wouldn’t know one end of a club from the other, knew what it was.”

Palmer’s accomplishments were wide spread, his influence wide ranging. He helped raised hundreds of millions more for charities.

In 1989, after Palmer played a major role in a fund-raising drive, the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children & Women in Orlando opened. The first baby was born within hours after the ribbon cutting. Since, nearly 200,000 children have been born there.

In 2002, Arnie’s Army Battles Prostate Cancer was launched and more than 2,500 tournaments across the country sponsored by the organization have raised more than $3 million for prostate cancer research.

Palmer also left his stamp on developing some 225 courses throughout the world.

“The game has given so much to Arnold Palmer,” Nicklaus said, “but he has given back so much more.”

This was evident when Palmer received the Congressional Gold Medal.

“Arnold Palmer democratized golf, made us think that we, too, could go out and play,” said House Speaker John Boehner, an avid golfer. “He made us think that we could really do anything, really. All we had to do was to go out and try. …

“Arnold, you’ve struck our hearts and our minds, and today your government, your fellow citizens are going to strike a gold medal for you.”

Added Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: “Golf made you famous, but your tireless efforts to save lives, not your short game, will make you immortal.”

ARNOLD DANIEL “ARNIE” PALMER

Born: Sept. 10, 1929, in the small industrial town of Latrobe in Western Pennsylvania, at the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains

Nickname: The King

Education: Wake Forest, on a golf scholarship, where he was the school’s first individual NCAA champion, in 1949, then the NCAA individual medalist again in 1950; first ACC champion in 1953

Military service: U.S. Coast Guard

Hall of Fame: Inducted in 1974 into the World Golf Hall of Fame, among many halls of fame to honor him

Estimated net worth: $675 million

Playing career: 62 titles on the PGA Tour, including Masters titles in 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964; U.S. Open title in 1960; British Open titles in 1961 and 1962. Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour in 1961, 1962, 1964, 1967. Ryder Cup player in 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1971 and 1973. Last playing captain, in 1963, and captain again in 1975. 10 titles on the Champions Tour, including Senior U.S. Open title in 1981; Senior PGA Championship titles in 1980, 1984; Senior Tournament Players Championship titles in 1984, 1985

Author: A Life Well Played: My Stories, 2106; Arnold Palmer: Memories, Stories, and Memorabilia from a Life on and Off the Course, 2004; Playing by the Rules: All the Rules of the Game, Complete with Memorable Rulings From Golf’s Rich History, 2002; A Golfer’s Life (with James Dodson), 1999; 495 Golf Lessons, 1973; Play Great Golf, 1987; Arnold Palmer’s Complete Book Of Putting (with Peter Dobereiner), 1986; Arnold Palmer’s Best 54 Golf Holes (with Bob Drum), 1977; Go For Broke: My Philosophy of Winning Golf (with William Barry Furlong), 1973; Situation Golf (with Jesus Gutierrez), 1970; My Game and Yours, 1963

Filmography:Return to Campus (1975)

Trivia: In 1971, at 41, Palmer earned the biggest paycheck of his career — $50,000 for winning the Westchester Classic

Quote: “I have a tip that will take five strokes off anyone’s golf game. It’s called an eraser.” — Palmer

By Rachel Shuster

SOURCE: USA TODAY