ORLANDO, Fla. – We watched Arnold Palmer’s last full shot at the tournament that now bears his name in 2004, a driver from 221 yards away that looked much cooler than it sounds.
We watched the King’s final turn on the Champions Tour at the 2006 Father-Son Challenge, and it turns out we have watched his last ceremonial tee shot at the Masters.
It was cold last April, and Palmer’s 85-year-old body wasn’t working the way it once did when the four-time Masters champion sent his tee shot trundling down Augusta National’s first fairway.
There was no indication that last year’s opening tee shot would be Palmer’s last.