Arnold Palmer to finally bow out of Masters

All good things eventually come to an end and Arnold Daniel Palmer, at the second attempt, will close a memorable chapter at this week's U.S. Masters.

Four-times winner Palmer, the undisputed King of Augusta National, will finally sign off after a record 50-year love affair with the first of the year's four majors.

Although he has not made the cut at Augusta since 1983, the 74-year-old American is certain to provide the week's most nostalgic moment, no matter who wins the prized green jacket on Sunday.

"I think it's going to be exciting for me and it's going to be somewhat sentimental," Palmer told reporters at last month's Bay Hill Invitational, the PGA Tour event which he hosts.

"It's an opportunity to say goodbye to all of the fans who have been so supportive over the last 50 years and have been the reason that I have played as long as I have.

"And there's some other things going to happen. The best part is that my entire family are going to be there, my grandchildren and their parents and that's kind of special."

Palmer has already made one farewell bid at the tournament he helped make famous, in 2002.

At the time, it seemed his dream of a half-century of Masters starts was over, with organisers deciding to end the life-long exemption extended to former champions.

However Augusta National Golf Club chairman Hootie Johnson, following discussions with Palmer and six times winner Jack Nicklaus, reversed the decision, saying it was up to the champions to decide when to walk away.

The tradition of inviting past champions to play at the Masters, as long as they were still competitive, dates back to a letter that Augusta's founder chairman Clifford Roberts wrote in 1970 to twice winner Ben Hogan.

Palmer duly took part at Augusta last year, again missing the cut after successive scores of 83.

On Thursday he will eclipse the record of 49 Masters starts he shares with 1957 winner Doug Ford before making his final bow in the event the following day.

He will certainly be misty-eyed when he trudges up the 18th fairway for the last time as a Masters competitor, soaking up the adulation of his faithful fans -- 'Arnie's Army' -- in his 50th consecutive appearance at Augusta.

"Hell, I know them all by name," he jested about his supporters. "They call me at home most of the year to see if I was going to play. And there's a lot of truth in that.

"Some of the older fans now are still calling wanting tickets or whatever to get into the tournament. We try to accommodate as much as we can. The fans have been great."

Palmer, winner in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1964, has enjoyed a lifelong respect for the tradition of the Masters.

"Augusta was kind of built on the fact that the players kept coming back year after year after year, and that was one of the things that I think made the Masters what it is," he said.

"I can remember when I first started playing and went there to play in a golf tournament that I wanted to win.

"Importantly, I saw people like Craig Wood, Gordon Smith, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, (Ben) Hogan and (Sam) Snead and that was important to me as a player.

"It was something that made Augusta different. The fact that those people thought enough of the tournament and what was happening there to come long after their playing days were over.

"I don't think the Masters has changed all that much. It has not changed any more than anything else in our lives today."

In one respect, though, the Masters will have changed significantly by the end of this week.

It will no longer be blessed with its undisputed King in the tournament field as a competitor.