The King turns 80: Images and impact of Arnold Palmer

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Arnold Palmer on the golf course in July of 1961.

Arnold Palmer has spent over 50 years in the public eye, posed for thousands of pictures and authored some of the most memorable moments in golf history.

On Sept. 10, 2009, the King turns 80 and, in honor of his big celebration, we've picked 18 of our favorite Palmer pictures and put together a photo timeline of his career.

ARNOLD PALMER photo gallery: 1 | 2 | CURRENT PHOTO | 4 | 5 |6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18

A star is born

Palmer's early years on TOUR (1961-1962)

By 1961, Palmer had two Green Jackets and a U.S. Open win. But there was one trophy he desperately wanted - the Claret Jug. In the years after Ben Hogan won the 1953 British Open, many top American golfers stopped their yearly trips across the pond because of the long distance and difficult links courses. Heeding the advice of Mark McCormack, his friend and sports agent, Palmer began traveling to the British Open in 1960 and the rest of the U.S. golfers followed. He placed second in his first Open at St. Andrews, then won back-to-back titles in 1961 (Royal Birkdale) and 1962 (Royal Troon). The Palmer-Nicklaus rivalry that started at Cherry Hills grew stronger in the early 1960s. After losing to Palmer at the 1960 U.S. Open, Nicklaus got redemption at the 1962 event at Oakmont. Palmer's putter let him down that week, as he three-putted 13 times over four days while Nicklaus only had one three-putt for the entire week. Palmer missed an 8-foot par putt on No. 9 in the final round and he eventually wound up losing to Nicklaus in a playoff. Decades after the fact, Palmer still claimed his putt on the ninth hole was the mulligan he'd love to have in his career.

More on Palmer

Check out these stories on Arnold Palmer, who turns 80 this week PHOTO ESSAY: There may never be a golfer as photogenic as Arnold Palmer. Need proof? Check out these images of his career. Click here 80 THINGS TO LOVE ABOUT ARNIE: Is it his smile? His untucked shirt? Or that he has a tea named after him? Columnist Melanie Hauser has her top 80. Click here PLAYERS REACT: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III, Gary Player, Ben Crenshaw and others discuss their memories of Arnie, and the impact he has made on their careers. Click here BEST MEMORIES: PGATOUR.COM's columnists share their best memories of dealing with the King. Click here FATHER AND SON: PGATOUR.COM's Brian Wacker reveals how Arnie reached out to his father, who was dying of cancer. Click here LETTER FROM ARNIE: Helen Ross shares a note from Arnie that inspired her father in his battle against prostate cancer. Click here INFLUENCE ON GOLF: He isn't just a golfer. He's an icon who transcended the game, created an Army and made golf cool to watch. Click here ARNIE'S NUMBERS: His wins, margins of victory and the rest of his stats. Click here LISTEN TO ARNIE:John Swantek from "Talk of the TOUR" on the PGA TOUR Network visits with Palmer on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Click for audio