Behind The Scenes

Hogan and Palmer were together in 1966 but were never close friends.
Photo By Historic Golf Photos

Larry Mize, Augusta native and 1987 Masters champion: "As a kid I remember following him. I'll never forget this time, he and Weiskopf were playing some younger guys. They were on the tee box at No. 2. I was standing around the tee. I don't know if he was reeling them in or what, but I remember Arnold hitting a big drive and Weiskopf telling them, 'Boys, get used to it. He's going to get better and longer as the day goes on.' "

Ken Green: "My thought [in 1997] was, Arnold's always had a friendly reputation, and I clearly have always liked to have a beer, and it's my only chance to have a beer with somebody who's a legend. Who wouldn't want to have a beer with Arnold Palmer? So at 15, after we hit our tee shots, I had a friend of mine go to a concession stand and get one. Walking to our tee shots I said, 'You know Arnie, I've always wanted to have a beer with you.' He said to me, 'In all honesty, you should have brought me one.' I'm sure he was kidding, but he handled it in a way only he could have handled it, with total class?not like myself."

Jerry Kelly: "During my first Masters, in 2002, I had some Masters flags that I wanted all the past champions to sign. I brought them up to the Champions Locker Room, and the guy there said, 'Sorry, you need to keep these in the regular locker room.' Well, who was the only past champion to sign my flags? I didn't even have to ask him. He saw the flags and signed them. No questions asked. I'll never forget that."

TEE TIME WITH THE KING
Doug Sanders: "What I remember most is Arnie and me smoking all those cigarettes at Augusta. L&M would send us two cartons a week. I remember we would always take a puff on the tee and then throw that cigarette down with a flick. There was just a way about him. He'd stand there with that cigarette in his hand. He was confident. Augusta was his home. That was his place. He could stand there with that look like this was his place and he was here to win."

Buddy Marucci, 1995 U.S. Amateur runner-up and 1996 Masters contestant: "I didn't want to walk to the first tee with Arnold; I didn't think it was appropriate. When I walked to the tee, the gallery was about six or eight deep. About two minutes before we hit, he waved me over to the center of the tee, put his arms around my shoulder, pulled me over to him so close he must have been four inches from my face. He said, 'Look, I don't know what's going to happen out here today, but I do know it's going to be one of the greatest days of your life. Anything I can do for you, let me know.' He hits his tee shot just about perfectly to the top of the hill. I told him, 'You didn't have to hit it so well.' He smiled. So I got up there and swung as hard as I could, and I hit this thing right on the nose, and it goes eight yards past his. I told him, 'I don't care what happens the rest of the day. I got you at the first tee, and that's all that matters.' "

Billy Mayfair: "I won the U.S. Amateur in 1987, so in 1988 I got to play in the Masters. I played with Arnold in the second round. I remember calling for my tee time, and the lady on the phone said, 'You're playing with the King.' She didn't say 'Mr. Palmer' or anything like that. Just, 'You're playing with the King.' We were both probably going to miss the cut, but that day he was grinding as hard as he could to get back into the tournament. I still think about it to this day."

Tiger Woods: "The last one?what we thought was his last Masters?Mark [O'Meara] and Arnold and I played in the Par-3 Contest. That was pretty cool. Arnold hit one of those typical shots of his, just got the follow-through going, staring at it. It hits in the water. He said, 'Where did that go?'?he was just posing on it?'Where did that go?'
" 'It's in the water, Arnie.'
" 'Oh, all right.' "

THE ARMY
Lanny Wadkins: "Arnold can look to the gallery left of the green and all 1,000 people think he's looking at them, like he's making eye contact with 1,000 people. I don't think it's anything he tried too hard at. It's just him--genuine and honest."

Billy Casper: "He was egged on a lot by the people in the gallery, and he listened to them. He could be very, very spectacular, or he could be very much like them and some of the shots they hit. That's why he was so appealing to them."

Buddy Marucci: "At No. 7 [in 1996] I hit my second shot over the green into the back fringe. The people in the crowd are sitting in chairs about a foot and a half from my ball. I'm trying not to hit people with my backswing. I was clearly struggling, pacing, trying to figure out a way to hit this shot. Arnold could tell I wasn't comfortable, so he saunters over, looks at the crowd, and says, 'This is his first Masters. Give him a break; give him room.' All of a sudden it was like the parting of the Red Sea."