Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Arnold Palmer was the symbol that sold golf to the American public in the television age of the late 1950s and 1960s. He made it exciting for millions of people who knew nothing about the game by making birdies from impossible positions and charging to victory from absolutely nowhere, always watched attentively by the adoring "Arnie's Army". Palmer attacked golf courses with brute strength and an angelic putting touch, and he did it all with stylish elan. His rugged all-American good looks, magnetic personality and ready smile made him a hero when he birdied the last two holes to win the 1960 Masters and, two months later, shot a closing 65 to win the US Open; they made him the object of national sympathy when he lost playoffs for three more US Opens and struggled in vain to win the US PGA Championship, which eluded him just as the US Open had eluded Sam Snead. Palmer's prime years were brief, but spectacular. They ran from 1958 to 1964, but his influence in bringing millions of dollars into the sport lingers on. It is safe to say that the US Senior tour would not have been able to boast a 1993 schedule that carried over 40 tournaments and over $30 million in prize money if Palmer had not been the catalyst that invigorated it when he turned 50.

In addition to his 60 regular tour wins, Palmer won 10 times in senior service between 1981 and 1992. But it was what Palmer did in those seven glorious seasons that so ignited the public interest in the man and in his sport. He won seven majors to add to his 1954 US Amateur title: four Masters, one US Open and two Opens. He collected those titles from 22 starts, during which time he also managed to lose playoffs for the US Open in 1962 and 1963, throw away the Masters in 1959 and 1961, and finish a shot behind the winner on his debut in the Open in 1960. Palmer resurrected the fortunes of the Open Championship almost single-handedly, by persuading his compatriots to make the pilgrimage to Britain. His best golf probably came at the 1964 Masters when he was 34, an age when Hogan hadn't won his first major. That week, Palmer was remorselessly accurate with his irons and deadly on the greens. Nobody then would have believed it was to be his last major. That was the way fate decreed it should be, but the legacy and legend of Arnold Palmer will surely be enduring facets of professional golf.

"I have a tip that can take five strokes off anyone's golf game. It's called an eraser." - Arnold Palmer

Palmer's style of play has thrilled millions of golf fans.

Palmer was America's gofl icon for the 1960s.