Those reports of Arnold Palmer's retirement from competitive golf were greatly exaggerated.
Because Arnie's back.
That's right, Palmer will return to Utah to play in the Senior PGA Tour event in Park City, now known as the Uniting Fore Care Classic presented by Novell. The tournament will be played Aug. 19-25 at Park Meadows Country Club.
A lot of Utahns believed they had seen the last of Palmer when he shot his age with a final-round 70 at the 2000 Novell Utah Showdown.
He played in 14 Senior events that year, cut it in half to seven last year and this year has played sparingly with just two official Senior events along with three PGA Tour events. At the Masters in April, he announced that he would no longer play any PGA Tour events after getting embarrassed with rounds of 89 and 85.
Palmer left the door open about playing in Senior events, and he recently told officials of the Park City tournament that he would play in August. The fact that Palmer has significantly curtailed his Senior schedule this season makes his commitment to the Utah tournament all the more significant, according to tournament director Bryan Naugle.
"Arnold is the face of the game — one of golf's great icons," said Naugle. "His swing, charisma, personality and aggressive manner of play are still inspiring, even after all these years. His commitment guarantees his many Utah fans another opportunity to watch him play."
Palmer's best finish in a Utah Senior event came in 1982, the first year of the tournament, when he finished in a tie for 21st place. Except for the best-ball events, he didn't play again in Utah until 1996 when he finished in a tie for 54th and shot a third-round 67.
This year he played in just the Verizon Classic in February when he finished in 77th place and won $810 and the recent Senior PGA Championship, where he missed the cut with rounds of 78 and 81.
The Uniting Fore Care Classic will be played for the first time in a Modified Stableford Format, which may be more appealing to golfers who won't have to worry about making big numbers. Under the Stableford Format, golfers earn points for eagles and birdies and negative points for bogeys and double bogeys and higher.
Tickets for the 2002 Uniting Fore Care Classic can be purchased by calling 1-888-335-4345.
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