#56: Four Please, All Green.
Arnold Palmer entered 1964 with his eyes set squarely on Augusta.
Jack Nicklaus had taken the 1963 Masters and was favored to win again, but Palmer didn’t mind: “I’d finally begun to realize that I almost always played sharper and more consistent golf when cast in the underdog role,” he wrote in “A Golfer’s Life,” describing his resolve at the 1964 Masters. In a heated atmosphere that saw the first “spectator code of conduct” handed out, Palmer went 69, 68, 69 to move five shots ahead of one of the best Masters fields in history. After a strong front 9 on Sunday, Palmer pulled out a 3-wood on No.15 and went for the green in two. He cleared the pond, cemented his reputation as a legend, and—on his way to winning by six strokes—ultimately fulfilled his dream of walking up the 18th fairway at Augusta knowing he couldn’t lose.
