This week's event is the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Arnie recently said he won't hit the ceremonial first tee shot at The Masters next month. He, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player have shared that honor in recent years. It appears that Palmer's health is rapidly failing. Just saw him interviewed by Jimmy Roberts and he's aged quite a bit in the past year as far as the way he looks and sounds. He is 85 and has lived a full life.
Arnold Palmer is slowing down, appreciate him while you can. He had an impact as an athlete on American society equal to and arguably greater than even Babe Ruth, because Arnold became a star early on in the television age and took full advantage of it as he was a very shrewd businessman and marketer of his image, a trailblazer in that regard. He was also an accomplished pilot who flew to tournaments and all over the world.
I would encourage anyone who isn't very familiar with Arnold Palmer and his legacy and impact, even those who aren't golf fans, to watch the three-part series about him on Golf Channel, which just aired again the other night, along with a fourth accompanying hour about Arnie's Army called "Arnie and Me." It's impossible to watch without being greatly moved and filled with appreciation for this American icon. He was charismatic, always polite and gracious, had the common touch yet was larger than life, and it's no longer possible for someone like him to come along in anti-White 21st century America.
