Arnold Palmer’s earning power would put today’s golf stars in the shade

Film star Sean Connery gets a few tips from American golfer Arnold Palmer, his partner in a Pro-Am tournament in Paris. 1976
Central Press/Getty Images
Matt Majendie @mattmajendie26 September 2016

Remarkably, as recently as 2011 Arnold Palmer was still golf’s third highest earner, 38 years after his last win on the PGA Tour.

From buying Bay Hill Club, which hosted his eponymous invitational event on the PGA Tour, to designing courses across the globe, his post‑playing career earned him £28million just five years ago. Only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson earned more from the game that year.

There were other golfing ventures such as launching the Golf Channel but also projects off the course such as his love of aviation.

He first piloted his own aircraft 50 years ago and 20 years later set a record for flying around the world in a Lear 36 in 57 hours, 25 minutes and 42 seconds. By the time of his final flight just six years ago, he was believed to have clocked up more than 20,000 hours in the cockpit.

But by many he was just as revered for his philanthropic work, perhaps most notably the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, which he helped fund at its inception in 1989. Another unit in Florida, the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies took the name of his wife, who also worked tirelessly for charity.

Arnold Palmer on the set of the film 'Call Me Bwana', 1962. Photo: Evening Standard
Evening Standard

That Palmer had such an impact on and off the course left him somewhat bemused.

In Pictures: Arnold Palmer remembered

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He once said: “I’m not interested in being a hero. I just want to play some golf.”

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