MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 13, 2002

Arnold Palmer

BILLY PAYNE: Well, good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It's indeed a pleasure, and, in fact, quite an honor to introduce Mr. Arnold Palmer who has been a participant in 48 consecutive Masters Tournament and a man who will always be synonymous with the Masters and with the Augusta National, a true champion, Mr. Arnold Palmer.

He would like to respond to your questions, please.

Q. Was it as emotional an event as you thought it would be coming up 18?

ARNOLD PALMER: I thought I would keep the emotion down a bit, but, yes, there's a lot of feeling.

Q. And it's still there?

ARNOLD PALMER: Yes.

Q. What are you going to do now the rest of the week?

ARNOLD PALMER: This week? Well, in short order, I'm going to go out there to Bush Field and get in the left seat of a Citation X and fly up to Orlando and get myself a little bit unwound. And probably watch the Masters.

Q. What was going through your heart, your mind as the final walk on the fairway for the last time on 18?

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, there's a lot of things that came to my mind. The tournaments that I won. Some I lost. And certainly, as all of you know, there were both sides of it.

The last couple of days, some, maybe a little heavy emotion within myself, not always noticeable, but feeling.

Q. When did you become aware of Arnie's Army?

ARNOLD PALMER: I guess it started in '58 when the Army was actually manning the scoreboards and they were -- a lot of the soldiers from Fort Gordon took time off, took leave and took time off to come and man the scoreboards.

And that year, I saw a few signs that they held up, members of Arnie's Army. And then it got pretty heavy. And I think it was either '59 or '60 that there was a ban on carrying signs, and that was what had started it; that got a little heavy. And then in '60 it really became very prominent, not just here at Augusta, but it carried over to other tournaments.

And then I think most of the tournaments banned signs, carrying signs, and that was kind of the way it went. But those were the key years to Arnie's Army. And of course, it's just grown from there.

Q. What do you think will become of the Army now?

ARNOLD PALMER: What do I think will become of it? Well, I'm not sure, but I think from what -- from all indications, it will just continue as it has.

You know, I have thousands of people writing me all the time about it, appointing themselves to various positions. (Laughter.) Colonels, some of them are privates who think they are generals, and they talk about it.

But most of the stuff is just fantastic. The mail I get from fans, that sort of thing, is something that has been fairly consistent and it has not -- you know, you keep thinking of the poor golf that I've played in the last few years, you would think it would probably settle down and back off a little bit, but it has not. It's as heavy now as it's ever been. As a matter of fact, it's getting to the point -- and I don't want you to feel sorry for me -- but it's getting pretty expensive answering all the things. (Laughter.)

Q. Your first good-bye was at Oakmont, the last one is here; was that tougher than this one or was this one tougher?

ARNOLD PALMER: You know, I don't know that I can compare things like that. Oakmont was much like Augusta in that it was home. It was where I grew up. So for that reason, it was pretty sentimental. Much the same as here.

Q. Are you surprised at the kind of affection fans have had for you over your career, and have you ever really come up with a good reason why, in your own mind, why you have been able to inspire that?

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, I'm not going to give you any reasons. I'd just like to think that the people got to know me.

Q. When you got to 13 yesterday and the rains came, what was your reaction? Were you disappointed that you had to extend it to another day, or were you excited that you got to come back out one more time?

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, I have a smart-ass answer for you.

I was very excited because I had not played on Saturday in a long time. (Laughter.)

Q. Do you have any feeling or indication that today's players will be as beloved as you are and that they will be playing at your age?

ARNOLD PALMER: That's a tough question for me to answer. You know, a lot of the reflections of the game have changed. The work ethic of the players have changed. I'd like to think that it has not been something that has happened very suddenly. I'd like to think it's a gradual thing that's happened over the last 50 years.

You know, these guys are playing in a different situation totally, and I suppose that that has an effect on what their personal feelings are for the galleries and how they approach that situation.

My situation has never changed in those 50 years. You know, it's nice today, to be walking up the fairway and have numerous people who I have seen for 48 years, and over 48 years, actually some of them followed me when I won the Amateur, and that's a long time ago. And I see them out there now -- not so many of them, but certainly a lot of people that were here that I by one means or another got acquainted with, just by name or by the fact that they stay in touch with me through my office and so on.

Q. On the green at 18, you put your arm around Hamilton and talked to him. Can you tell us what you were saying?

ARNOLD PALMER: I had met Robert out in Napa this last fall and he asked if I would play a practice round with him here at Augusta, and I said yes. Of course, we played a practice round, and I think he's going to turn pro; he indicated to me that he was going to turn pro after the Masters. I think he's a good player. I think he just needs to get into it a little bit and he'll do very well.

All I said, I was sort of kidding him, because in the last two days, he hit a lot of great shots, but he didn't play anywhere near to his ability, and one of the fallacies of his game was he left a lot of putts short and 3-putted from short. Now I said, "Robert, when you turn pro, don't leave those putts short. Get them up to the hole."

Q. I mean this with great respect, but do you remember the last time that you walked up to a green in silence?

ARNOLD PALMER: Yeah. (Laughter.) At Bay Hill the other day, I was losing my ass in the shoot-out. No one was saying a word to me. (Laughter.) I'm kidding.

But I play in the shoot-out a lot and there isn't a lot of commotion, although there's usually someone there to watch. But that's kind of the fun I get out of it.

Q. Several of the players, David Duval, Greg Norman stuck around to watch you finish up and I know a lot of them have talked to you the last couple of days. What have they been saying and what does that mean?

ARNOLD PALMER: Just nice things.

Q. As you played each and every hole for the last time competitively in the Masters, did any particular of your Masters moments from years past come to mind? I know the crowds were a big part, but did you remember anything from years past on that particular hole?

ARNOLD PALMER: There's something I remember on every hole. I can start at 10 or start at 1 and I don't think that -- there are special shots that I remember on every hole on this golf course. I think about the shots that I played this week or last year or, you know, I can remember the shots that I played at 1 when I was playing pretty well, and I was hitting a drive and a 7- or an 8-iron into the green.

2, I used to fly it right at the green in two.

Or the things I did on 3, the trees on the right, how many times I went through them to get on the green.

4, when I hit a shot one day and I thought I was being pretty smart and just flew it over the hedges on the back of the green.

5, how many times I tried to get back up the hill, because it wasn't my forte to hit a high lob shot on the green and hold it on the green. And I can just go right around the golf course that way.

And incidents, in addition to just golf shots. A lot of incidents that happened and things that happened to me, some -- most of all were very nice and good, and some weren't. Some were less tasteful, but very few of those, thank goodness.

But the answer is yes, I can remember a lot of shots on a lot of holes.

Q. How much are you going to miss coming here?

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, I'll probably come for the Masters Club dinner, and I don't know how much more than that I will participate. That's an unknown, even to me at this point in time. I hope not too much. I hope I'll be here once in awhile.

Q. Did you entertain any thoughts of stretching it to at least 50, putting in two more?

ARNOLD PALMER: At a point I thought about doing 50 and playing right through. But, it just seemed like this is appropriate this year, since I had decided not to play in a number of events, and the only hinge on it was that if I -- if I played pretty well, I would then maybe consider another year or two. But, you know, my game is just really not -- it's not good, and I'm like all of you. I'm hoping to go out next week and start practicing and find the answer to my problems and get on it with it, because there's a number of things coming up that would be in my thinking, would be nice to do; and that would be to play the Senior Open and the PGA at Akron. And I won't play them if my game is not any better than it is right now, and I mean that.

Q. Can you compare what you have just gone through emotionally with what's happened for you at Oakmont, as well?

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, I kind of talked about that a minute ago. You know, I played Oakmont in my junior days. It was -- that was a place where I played junior golf, and I really lived there. And that was -- and of course there were just so many circumstances there that made it very, very emotional because of family and friends who were all there. The comparison is not too different. It's pretty similar, really, to here. I suppose except for here, I've got to go to Orlando this afternoon and from Pittsburgh I went to the house, at home.

Q. The general assumption is that soon you'll be asked to be involved in the ceremony at the opening of the tournament, and can you tell us why you would or would not choose to do that?

ARNOLD PALMER: I haven't thought about that yet. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. As I said, I've got some things to sort out and I'll just wait and see how that all turns out.

Q. Your caddy was your son-in-law?

ARNOLD PALMER: My son-in-law, married to my youngest daughter.

Q. Amy?

ARNOLD PALMER: Amy.

Q. It's no doubt that you're leaving the game of golf, at least at this point, in a much better place than you found it some 40-plus years ago. Do you feel comfortable with where the game is going now and leaving it in the hands of the players that are out there?

ARNOLD PALMER: Hell of a question. I think the game of golf is in pretty good hands, yes, but I certainly am not without my concerns about the game and how it's treated and what reaction we get from all of the things that are happening in the game, from manufacturing, to players, to rules, to you name it. I would like to think that that is a vigil that we have to stay on to keep the game on the proper course.

Right now, if you look at statistics, you'll find that the game for the general public is a little flat. It's not making a lot of progress right now. But I don't think it's going backwards, either, don't misunderstand me. But I think we need to be aware of that and I think we need to do all we can to have people come out and enjoy the game. I've never been one to keep it to a certain few. I've always felt like everyone should be able to enjoy the game, and I would like to think that that will continue to happen.

Q. You've always said that you planned to fade away when your time was over. Do you ever foresee saying that the Senior Open or Senior PGA would be your last event or would you just not show up?

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, if I continue to play as poorly as I have recently, I'll be faded away. I will not be out there, I promise you that.

But, as I said earlier in this conference, you know, I'm like you. I'm like most people in this room. I hit a couple of shots today that I got encouraged about and, hell, I can't wait to get to the practice tee and see if I can hit a few and see if I can make it work a little bit better. But I guess that's part of what keeps me going, the love of the game, and doing that.

Q. Gene Sarazen once said that the best way to speed up the game was to limit touching the ball one time on the green. Once you touch the ball one time, you putt it out. What would you say to a rule like that?

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, I played under that for a while. There was a rule, the continuous putting rule, and I played in that for a number of years. As a matter of fact, I lost an Open when that was in -- I think that was in effect, and I played with Sarazen here, and I believe that the continuous putting rule was in effect there, and that was way back. I remember playing with Gene and I had to move around fast to stay out of his way because he was gone. (Laughter.)

Q. Gary Player was talking the other day about a one-day, Tuesday morning senior Masters event. What would be your feeling about something like that?

ARNOLD PALMER: No. I don't believe in it. I don't think it should happen.

Q. What will you miss the most here, the fans, competing?

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, the Masters galleries, they are unbelievable, as you saw today. I marvelled at the last few holes. I just said to Roy, my son-in-law, I said, "I've never seen anything quite like this." I've seen big crowds and I've seen people, but this was unbelievable.

BILLY PAYNE: Mr. Palmer, we salute you as a great champion, and we admire you as a great man. Thank you.

ARNOLD PALMER: Thank you. (Applause).

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