美国国家公共电台 NPR Golfer Arnold Palmer, Who Gave New Life To A Staid Game, Dies At 87

Golfer Arnold Palmer, Who Gave New Life To A Staid Game, Dies At 87

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This morning we are remembering an all-time sporting great. It's golf legend Arnold Palmer, who died last night. He was 87 years old.

In his long career, Palmer won 62 PGA Tour events, including many of the big ones like the Masters and the U.S. Open. He won seven majors in all. But it was not just the numbers that made Arnold Palmer an iconic sports figure.

NPR's Tom Goldman has this remembrance.

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE²: He wasn't the greatest male golfer of all time. That title usually prompts a debate about Jack⁴ Nicklaus or Tiger Woods or Ben Hogan or Sam Snead. But the most important player - it's fairly unanimous that Arnold Palmer was, true to his nickname, the king.

Palmer strapped⁵ a moldy⁶, staid game on his back and gave it new life. He ignited golf's popularity in the 1960s as he became the sport's first TV star.

IAN O'CONNOR: He was someone who looked like an NFL halfback.

GOLDMAN: Ian O'Connor is a senior writer for espn.com.

O'CONNOR: He had arms like a blacksmith and giant hands. And he had those rugged⁷ good looks. And he was just a different golfer. Nobody had ever really seen anything like him in that sport.

GOLDMAN: Palmer's arrival as a champion pro³ in the late 1950s dovetailed with the emerging medium of television. Whether he was winning...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #1: It's rolling and - into the hole.

(CHEERING)

GOLDMAN: ...As he did at the 1960 Masters, or pitching products.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Hey, this one of those new Cougar⁸ XR7s you got here?

ARNOLD PALMER: That's right.

GOLDMAN: As he did in this 1968 car commercial, Palmer's looks and athleticism⁹ and talent made him a natural for TV. But that was just part of what transformed admiring fans into a devoted¹⁰ following that became known as Arnie's Army. Palmer grew up in a working class home in Pennsylvania. And ultimately, he brought the game to the same kinds of people.

Again, here's Ian O'Connor.

O'CONNOR: Golf was always considered a blue blood country club elitist sport. Arnold Palmer gave the sport to people who worked for members of the country club set.

GOLDMAN: He'd play with his shirt tail hanging out. He'd flick¹¹ away a cigarette before hitting, then swing for the fences and grimace¹² like an average duffer if the result was bad.

O'Connor, who wrote the book "Arnie And Jack" about the great rivalry¹³ and friendship between Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, says the class conflict was a motivating factor in Palmer's career.

So was Palmer's dad known, as Deacon. Deacon Palmer was a greenskeeper, a golf pro and, Arnold often said, the man who taught him everything he knows. In a 2015 interview, Palmer described his dad's honesty and toughness.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PALMER: He was tough on me. He never backed off. He played tough, worked hard. And he died a tough guy. He played 27 holes of golf the day he passed.

GOLDMAN: Palmer's mom softened¹⁴ the hard edges. Golf historians say she gave Palmer his people skills, which were his greatest appeal. Arnold Palmer was a genuinely nice guy.

DOC GIFFIN: I've often said that Arnold puts up with people that neither you or I would put up with (laughter).

GOLDMAN: Doc Giffin was Palmer's personal assistant for more than 50 years. Giffin remembers the many moments of Palmer walking among throngs¹⁵ of fans as he strode down fairways, the king and his army. Or Palmer talking to people in the gallery, joking with them, making paying customers feel like he wanted them there at the course.

I remember a Palmer press conference in 2008, when he complained about modern day athletes and their lack of penmanship. Illegible¹⁶ autographs cheapen the fan's experience, he said.

Judging by his golfing success, Palmer knew when to tune¹⁷ out the adoring masses and focus on himself - most of the time. There was, says Doc Giffin, that final hole of the final round of the 1961 Masters, when Palmer had a 1-stroke lead...

GIFFIN: ...And had a ball in the fairway at the 18th hole, and saw a friend of his over at the ropes who waved him over. And he walked over there instead of staying with his golf ball. And the man congratulated him on winning his second straight Masters. He said thank you and went back to his ball, and knocked it in a trap.

GOLDMAN: Several more flubs, and Palmer walked off the final green 1 stroke behind...

GIFFIN: ...And lost the Masters that it looked like he had it in the bag. And he said I'll never let that happen again. He learned his lesson.

GOLDMAN: In fact, a laser-focused Palmer made this dramatic shot.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #2: Palmer has selected his wedge. And he hits it. The ball is rolling, rolling, down, down, 45 feet, toward the hole, toward the hole - and in.

(CHEERING)

GOLDMAN: It helped him win the very next Masters Tournament in 1962. It was one of 92 professional career victories.

Arnold Palmer was a friend of presidents, but a man who never forgot his roots. He lived half the year in his native Latrobe, Pa. This dual¹⁸ appeal - charisma¹⁹ and humility²⁰ - didn't organically turn Palmer into a global celebrity²¹ athlete. That happened with the help of Mark McCormack, whose IMG became the biggest sports marketing²² company in the world. Palmer was McCormack's first major client. While the two of them spread Palmer's fame, golf started to boom. The numbers of players and courses increased dramatically in the 1960s.

It's reported in the early part of the decade, Palmer's heyday²³, 350 to 400 new courses were built each year. It wasn't all Palmer's doing, but he lit a fuse, with equal parts swagger and humility when he played. And a smile for strangers who came to the course to watch a golfer, and left feeling like they'd been touched by a king.

Tom Goldman, NPR News.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

4 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 moldy   

adj.发霉的

参考例句：

• She chucked the moldy potatoes in the dustbin.她把发霉的土豆扔进垃圾箱。
• Oranges can be kept for a long time without going moldy.橙子可以存放很长时间而不腐烂。

7 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

8 cougar   

n.美洲狮；美洲豹

参考例句：

• I saw a cougar slinking toward its prey.我看到一只美洲狮正在潜随猎物。
• I have never seen a cougar.我从未见过美洲豹。

9 athleticism   

n.运动竞赛，崇尚运动，竞技热

参考例句：

• He brings defense. He brings talent. He brings athleticism. That's a lot. “他带来的防御，他带来了人才，他带来了身体，这是很多”。 来自互联网
• Each of these sports isn't won through sheer athleticism alone. 每个体育项目无法凭借纯粹的运动能力而获胜。 来自互联网

10 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

11 flick   

n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动

参考例句：

• He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
• By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。

12 grimace   

v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭

参考例句：

• The boy stole a look at his father with grimace.那男孩扮着鬼脸偷看了他父亲一眼。
• Thomas made a grimace after he had tasted the wine.托马斯尝了那葡萄酒后做了个鬼脸。

13 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

14 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

15 throngs   

n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She muscled through the throngs of people, frantically searching for David. 她使劲挤过人群，拼命寻找戴维。 来自辞典例句
• Our friends threaded their way slowly through the throngs upon the Bridge. 我们这两位朋友在桥上从人群中穿过，慢慢地往前走。 来自辞典例句

16 illegible   

adj.难以辨认的，字迹模糊的

参考例句：

• It is impossible to deliver this letter because the address is illegible.由于地址字迹不清，致使信件无法投递。
• Can you see what this note says—his writing is almost illegible!你能看出这个便条上写些什么吗？他的笔迹几乎无法辨认。

17 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

18 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

19 charisma   

n.(大众爱戴的)领袖气质，魅力

参考例句：

• He has enormous charisma. He is a giant of a man.他有超凡的个人魅力，是个伟人。
• I don't have the charisma to pull a crowd this size.我没有那么大的魅力，能吸引这么多人。

20 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

21 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

22 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

23 heyday   

n.全盛时期，青春期

参考例句：

• The 19th century was the heyday of steam railways.19世纪是蒸汽机车鼎盛的时代。
• She was a great singer in her heyday.她在自己的黄金时代是个了不起的歌唱家。