Arnold Palmer is in the process of cutting back his golf schedule drastically. However, the Masters Tournament won't be one of the events the four-time champion drops. If anything, it would be the last tournament he takes off his list.
``I'm just pleased to be going to Augusta for the 45th time,'' the 69-year-old Palmer said. ``I hope I can make it to the big wedding anniversary (his 50th Masters) in a few years.''
Palmer is such a fixture at the Masters that he'll break the record for consecutive starts when he tees it up this year. He's tied with Sam Snead (1937-1983) for the most Masters starts in succession.
Before he's through, Palmer may have the record for most total Masters starts. Doug Ford, who plans to play this year, has the record with 46 through 1998.
After playing in a few Senior PGA Tour events this year without much success, Palmer said in late February, ``If my golf game continues to be as poor as it is, I won't play at all (on the senior tour).''
Asked in mid-March if that statement was made out of frustration after a bad tournament, Palmer said , ``It's something I'm going to do. There isn't much that could change my decision. I suppose the only thing that could change is if my game got to where I was confident, I might play a few more events."
That being the case, this could very well be Palmer's last year as a regular on the Senior PGA Tour. To keep their cards, players must enter at least 12 events and Palmer may not reach that figure.
In the coming years, the only chance to see Palmer play may come in the Bay Hill Invitational, a PGA Tour event he hosts in March each year in Orlando, Fla., and the Masters.
Palmer had never made a secret of his love for the Masters. Not surprisingly, he devotes 37 pages to his experiences and feelings about the tournament in his new biography, A Golfer's Life. The chapter is titled ``Augusta.''
``It's one of my favorite chapters,'' Palmer said. ``It brought back some memories to me.''
One of the stories Palmer relates happened in the 1958 Masters, his fourth trip to Augusta National.
In a practice round, Palmer and Dow Finsterwald took on Ben Hogan and Jackie Burke in a small-money game. With Finsterwald carrying the team, they won $35.
In the locker room afterward, Palmer overheard Hogan ask Burke, ``How the hell did Palmer get an invitation to the Masters?''
At a press conference promoting the book at Bay Hill in mid-March, Palmer said, ``I didn't tell anybody that story except Winnie (Palmer's wife).''
The kicker to the story is that Palmer went out and won his first Masters title that year.
``I couldn't find him (Hogan) afterward,'' Palmer said at the press conference.
In the book, Palmer reveals for the first time that Hogan never called him by his first name.
``I was `fella' or `hey' or something of that order,'' Palmer said. ``That didn't mean anything except he probably didn't give a (expletive) who I was. That's the way it was.''
From his first trip to the Augusta National in 1955, Palmer says in the book that he ``always felt something powerful in Augusta, and I knew my time would come.
``I always had a gut feeling that the Masters title would eventually be mine -- that is to say, it was simply a matter of time before I won the tournament. Part of that came from the way, year after year, I studied the course and learned how to play it, and part of it came from the almost childlike excitement I always felt going up Magnolia Lane each spring at Augusta National. Perhaps there are moments in life when we can feel destiny's invisible hand brushing our shoulder.''
Chip shots: Arnold Palmer
Palmer serves as chairman of the board of The Golf Channel.
Arnie to keep returning
