Arnold Palmer

He tied the nuptial knot with Winnie Palmer. The couple stayed together for 45 years until her death in 1999 due to complications arising out of ovarian cancer.

In 2005, he married Kathleen Gawthrop.

His grandson, Sam Saunders is a professional golfer

Arnold Palmer was born to Milfred Deacon Palmer in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. His father was a head professional and greenskeeper at Latrobe Country Club.

It was his father who embedded in young Palmer the seed of golf. Picking up the trick of the sport since early on, he trained himself at the game like his father.

By the time he turned 17, he had won two state interscholastic championships. It was his excellence over the game that helped him bag a seat at the Wake Forest University on a golf scholarship.

The tragic death of his friend led him to drop out of the university in the senior year. He instead drafted himself in the US Coast Guard, thus taking a hiatus of three years both from education and golf.

Relieved from his duties after three years, he resumed college and golf activities. Soon he gained his form and went on to win the 1954 US Amateur title and the Ohio Amateur Championship. It was these wins in amateur tournaments that helped him turn a pro.

His professional career started on a good note as he recorded victory at the 1955 Canadian Open in his rookie season. He continued displaying powerful performances which helped him bag a series of victories.

Though his proficiency at the game earned him a streak of wins, it was the victory at the 1958 Masters Tournament that launched him as a professional golfer earning him much fame and recognition.

In 1969, he became one of the clients of the pioneering sports agent, Mark McCormack. The same year, he won the US Open and yet again recorded a victory at the Masters Tournament.

With an aim to recreate the winning streak of Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen and Sam Snead of winning all the three in a single year, he headed to Scotland to play at The Open Championship. However, he lost the title by a shot to KelNagle. Nevertheless, he earned himself a huge fan base amongst the British and Europeans.

The first three years of the 1960s was the most successful years in his career as he recorded massive victories. He not just won the 29 PGA Tour titles but earned a whopping $400,000 in prize money. Furthermore, he served as a winning captain of the US Ryder Cup.

In 1974, he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

In 1998, he was presented with the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award

In 2000, he was ranked as the sixth greatest player of all time in the Golf Digest magazine.

He was conferred with the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004. Five years later, he was bestowed the Congressional Gold Medal.

Since 2007, he had been the honorary starter of the masters Tournament and for three years from 2007 to 2009, he was the sole honorary starter