Arnold Palmer is regarded as one of golf's most popular players ever.  Palmer's charisma was a major factor in establishing golf as a compelling television event in the 1950s and 1960s, setting the stage for the popularity it enjoys today.

His first major championship win at the 1958 Masters marked his position as one of the leading stars in golf.  

Palmer began to play golf at a very young age and at the age of 7 broke a 100 for the first time.  Arnold grew up around the golf course and from there he never looked back. He attended Wake Forest University from 1947 until 1954, taking time out for service in the United States Coast Guard. He left Wake Forest without earning a degree and briefly worked as a paint salesman but after winning the 1954 U.S. Amateur he turned professional and he won the Canadian Open the following year.

Throughout his career, Palmer won seven major championships including The Masters 4 times, The U.S. Open once, and The Open Championship twice.  In 1960, he won the Hickok Belt as the top professional athlete of the year and Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award.   Also, in 1967 he became the first man to reach one million dollars in career earnings on the PGA Tour.

Currently, Arnold Palmer is retired from playing golf, however, he still is very close to the game.  He owns "Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club and Lodge", which is the venue for the PGA Tour's Bay Hill Invitational..  He also was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.