Who Are The 50 Best Golfers in History?

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14. Arnold Palmer

Palmer did more for the game than his major championship totals show. He won seven majors, although more people would be sure the number was higher than that. On the way to the British Open, in a conversation with the late sportswriter Bob Drum, Palmer created the modern day Grand Slam. He had already won the 1960 Masters and the U.S. Open that season and thought that winning the British Open and PGA would equal the season Bobby Jones had in 1930.

Palmer has 95 worldwide victories, 62 on the PGA Tour. He won the Masters four times, the U.S. Open once and the British Open twice. But Palmer also brought golf and television together. He was a particularly good friend of President Eisenhower. When asked at the Presidents Cup in 1996 what the President had said to him — referring to President Clinton who had been on site that day — he asked in reply, “Which President?”

In 1960, Palmer won the Hickok Belt as the top professional athlete of the year and Sports Illustrated magazine’s “Sportsman of the Year” award. Palmer won a U.S. or PGA Tour event every year from 1955 to 1971.

He won the Vardon Trophy for low scoring average in 1961, 1962, 1964, and 1967. He played on six Ryder Cup teams: 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1971, and 1973. Much to his disappointment, he never won the PGA.

Next: No. 13 - Sam Snead