Palmer Waxes Nostalgic on Final British Open

PARAMUS, N.J. —  Nostalgia abounds at the 11th U.S. Senior Open.

There are those aging heroes--Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino--playing with all the old flair and flavor that did so much to raise professional golf to new heights 25, 30, 35 years ago.

For Palmer, another confrontation with his old friends and golfing foes, however, is a prelude to a sentimental journey that will close an important part of his career.

His appearance at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, next month will be his last in the British Open.

“Unless something happens that I don’t know of, this will be my swan song” in the British Open, Palmer said before teeing off today in the first round of the Senior Open.

“It will be a sentimental journey back to St. Andrews, 30 years to the day that I went to my first British Open Championship,” Palmer said.

Palmer finished second to Australian Kel Nagle in his first British Open appearance in 1960, then won the title the next two years.

“Winning those two British Opens was an important step for me, an important part of my career, something I’ll always cherish,” he said.

“I’ll have the same caddy I had 30 years ago. I’m sure we’ll do a lot of reminiscing, remembering old times, shots played 30 years ago.

“It isn’t that I wouldn’t like to continue playing the British Open; it isn’t that I don’t still enjoy it,” said Palmer, now 60.

“But it’s time. I’m getting older. It’s time I started concentrating more on our Senior Tour.”

And the Senior Tour, he said, just keeps getting better and better.

“Scores keep going down. They’re almost at the level of the regular tour. The competition is very good, very strong,” he said.

“I don’t think any of us are surprised at the success of the Senior Tour, but a lot of us are surprised that it has raised to such a magnitude in 10 short years.”

Palmer, who continues to have putting problems, said the Senior Open championships for golf’s over-50 set should follow the trend of the Senior Tour.

“Typically in recent months, we’ve have some exceptionally low scoring. I think you’ll see some good scoring here, some very good rounds,” he said.

A case in point, he said, was the record-setting, 27-under-par performance by Nicklaus in the Senior TPC three weeks ago. Trevino was 21 under par in the same tournament.

Trevino, who plays the Senior Tour on a full-time basis, has won five times this season and finished second in his last two starts. Nicklaus has won two of his three Senior Tour starts.

“They certainly have shown us how strong they can play,” Palmer said. “But they aren’t the only ones in the field.

“There’s the same guys who were there 30 years ago on the regular tour, Gary (Player), (Bob) Charles, Chi Chi (Rodriguez). All can win. Orville Moody played a helluva tournament last year at Latrobe and won this championship, and he’s capable of doing it again.

“And there are some others in the field you don’t hear much about: Don Bies, Charles Coody, George Archer. You don’t want to overlook them.

“All that being said, you can’t get away from Trevino and Nicklaus and the way they’ve been playing.”

And what about Arnold’s chances?

“I hope I’m able to find something in my putting that hasn’t been there for a while, something that will give me a little more confidence,” he said.