Trio top leaderboard as Palmer bows out

Arnold Palmer got the loudest cheers and stole all the headlines at one final major championship.

``The King'' of seven Grand Slam events and five more as a senior, Palmer bid an emotional farewell Friday to his 50-year major championship career.

``It's not fun when you play as poorly as I played,'' the 75-year-old Palmer said after shooting an 81 to miss the cut by 11 strokes at the U.S. Senior Open. ``My tournaments are getting down to a very few.

``As far as trying to compete in major championships such as the Open and other tournaments, this is it. I'm through doing it. I'm not going to do it anymore.''

Tears filled his eyes as he said the words.

On a day when Tom Watson, Craig Stadler and Loren Roberts shared a two-shot lead on the field, Palmer upstaged even the renowned players 33 shots ahead of him.

It was Palmer who helped lift the sport by drawing an army of fans with his dramatic charges. His battles in the early 1960s with his friend and rival, Jack Nicklaus, took the game to a new level.

Palmer's first major tournament as a pro was the 1955 Masters. He tied for 10th and would go on to win at Augusta National in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1964. He also won the U.S. Open in 1960, and British Opens in 1961 and 1962.

Palmer was carried by a wave of emotion on the par-4 closing hole. He had to punch out to the fairway after an errant drive, but then hit a knockdown 6-iron that ended up 7 feet from the pin. He received a standing ovation that lasted 2 minutes from the thousands of people around the 18th green at NCR Country Club, up until he marked his ball.

Looking tired and drawn from playing in 80-degree temperatures, he missed the par putt, but made the putt coming back.

The crowd roared again and he responded by waving, smiling and bowing.

Hours earlier, Watson -- certainly no stranger to winning majors himself -- took a giant step toward winning another.

Watson, Stadler and Roberts were at 9-under 133, matching the tournament record for lowest score through 36 holes.

``Right now my swing feels pretty good and I'm trusting it,'' Watson said. ``I guess it doesn't matter what type of conditions I'm under. I feel as if I can compete with the swing I have right now.''

Watson began the day four shots behind Stadler, who tied the Senior Open's first-round record with a 64.

Watson won five British Opens, two Masters and a U.S. Open, and since turning 50 has captured four more major championships, including last week's Senior British Open in a playoff. He hit four approach shots within a foot for birdies, but fell back into a tie for the lead with a bogey on his last hole.

Roberts, playing in just his second tournament for the over-50 set, followed an opening 66 with a 67 that included five birdies and a bogey.

``I played really solid the last two days,'' Roberts said. ``But the key is that I've driven the ball well. Anybody who's put a low score up has driven the ball in the fairway.''

Stadler, a former Masters winner with 13 PGA Tour and eight Champions Tour victories, was even through 12 holes, but birdied the par-3 13th and the par-4 18th -- holing a 50-foot putt -- to pull into the three-way tie for the top spot. He shot a 69.

``You've got plenty of opportunities to make birdies out here,'' Stadler said. ``That's why the scores are so low.''

Two shots back of the logjam at the top was Wayne Levi, whose 67 left him at 135. Des Smyth, who lost to Watson in the playoff last week, shot a 66 and was tied with Raymond Floyd at 136. Floyd won the last major championship played at NCR Country Club, the 1969 PGA Championship.

Bruce Summerhays (69), Mark McNulty (67), Tom Jenkins (matching Watson's 65 for the low round of the day) and D.A. Weibring (67) were at 137.

Greg Norman, also playing his second seniors event, shot a 70 despite a double-bogey 7 on No. 6, and was tied with Allen Doyle (67) at 138.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page