One of the many greats of world Golf Arnold Palmer has died at the age of 87 in Pittsburg, his company and the United States Golf Association confirmed. According to the Pittsburg Post-Gazette, Palmer died while undergoing heart tests at the UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Following his death, United States Golf Association posted a tweet, which described Palmer as “Golf’s greatest ambassador”.
The CEO of Arnold Palmer Enterprises Alastair Johnson revealed that the veteran golfer died on Sunday afternoon. He also revealed that Palmer was admitted to the hospital on Thursday for cardiovascular complications and he had weakened over the last week.
Palmer had a huge fan base, which had named itself “Arnie’s Army”. One of the most notable achievements of his life was turning the game as a country club sport to a game of people. “I would like to be remembered for bringing golf to a worldwide audience,” said Palmer to CNN in 2012. He also stated that players do not have any boundaries today.
Palmer’s distinctive playing style helped him win more than 90 Golf tournaments worldwide, including one US Open and two consecutive British Opens. He also harnessed the Masters four times in his career.
Arnold Palmer was the first Golfer in history to earn $1 million playing Golf. He had also earned the nickname “The King,” for his skill and personality over the years. The current Golf stars Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and several others had expressed their grief and paid their respects to the deceased Golf legend on twitter earlier this day.
“Thanks Arnold for your friendship, counsel and a lot of laughs. Your philanthropy and humility are part of your legend,” said Tiger Woods.
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“It's an honor to be a locker mate with you at ANGC. You inspired millions, changed the game, and will forever be missed. #arnie,” a tweet from the defending FedEx cup champion’s Twitter account read.
Jack Nicklaus, Palmer’s biggest rival in Golf also took his grief to twitter calling the golfer as one of his best friends. “I just got the news at about 8:45 that Arnold had passed. I was shocked to hear that we lost a great friend,” read his tweet.
The President of America, Barack Obama also tweeted recalling Arnold’s memory. “Here's to The King who was as extraordinary on the links as he was generous to others. Thanks for the memories, Arnold,” he said.
He also revealed that he last spoke with Palmer on his 87th birthday on September 10 earlier this month and he “sounded great”. Palmer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004 and 2012 respectively.
