i am not much of a golf fan but know that Arnold Palmer is an important figure in golf.
Where does he fit in with the greats?, is the most influential golfer ever?, would someone compare him to a footballer or a cricketer so i can understand his legacy.
This is an interesting article about Arnold Palmer (saves me lots of typing!) perhaps you'd like to read it. British golf is most grateful to him for promoting the British Open to USA players in the early sixties, when many of them were not bothering to make the jouney over the Atlantic. He kept the tournament alive and along with his personality popularised golf in general. Obviously a great and successful player too.
he was sort of like Ian Botham, not necessarily the greatest ever (that might be Jack Nicklaus, though there are other contenders), but the most popular one, with a big personal following.
One of the greats - a very generous man too - to those organisations that had shaped him and others. My ex played on the Wake III team (his Uni) and she went to the Masters on his nickel - we had the pleasure of meeting him in 2005 at the US Seniors Texan Open in Austin; he was so appreciative of her thanks and very much a really pleasant and understated man, and lovely to see....RIP.