Arnold Palmer entertains college players at Palmer Cup

Palmer went over early for the 1960 British Open and with some free time, turned up in Paris to play the French Open. Rather than welcome golf's newest superstar, Palmer said, the French rejected his entry. "When Gary Player heard I was going, he came in, too, and they did the same thing to him," Palmer said. Pausing for effect, he added, "I was pissed."

His audience exploded in laughter again. While re-examining his famous drive to the first green at Cherry Hills, he talked about the Hogan Apex driver he used to hit the shot. He'd been talking to Ben Hogan at the Masters and Hogan gave him a couple of the Apex drivers to use. Palmer took a liking to one and began using it in competition. Palmer added that he modified the driver cosmetically to make it look like the Wilson Staff driver he was supposed to be endorsing and playing. "Don't tell anyone," he whispered loudly. "It's a secret."

Not a single golf shot was struck Tuesday at Cherry Hills and the first USA-Europe matches were moved back to Thursday morning. Yet the Palmer Cup got off to the most rousing start in its relatively brief history thanks to a 79-year-old man who loves the game and the people who play the game.