Arnold Palmer would have been 90 years old on Tuesday. Golfweek is marking his birthday by taking a look back at his legendary career and legacy. Here is a look at Palmer’s golf career, by the numbers.
Brief look
- 7: Major championships: Masters: 1958, ’60, ’62 and ’64; U.S. Open: 1960; British Open: 1961 and ’62
- 95: Professional victories
- 62: PGA Tour victories (fifth most all-time)
- 10: Champions Tour victories (five majors)
- 6: Ryder Cup appearances: 1961, ’63, ’65, ’67, ’71, ’75; U.S. went 6-0; 22-8-2 career individual record
- 6: World Cup appearances: 1960, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’66, ’67; U.S. went 6-0
- 26: Amateur victories (includes 1954 U.S. Amateur)
- 1974: Year inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame
Majors summary
| Tournament | Starts | Wins | Second | Third | Top 5 | Top 10 | Top 25 | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters | 50 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 19 | 25 |
| U.S. Open | 33 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 24 |
| British Open | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 17 |
| PGA Championship | 37 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 24 |
PGA Tour summary
| Year | Starts | Wins | Top 10 | Top 25 | Cuts made | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| 1953 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| 1954 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | $0 |
| 1955 | 30 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 26 | $7,958 |
| 1956 | 29 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 28 | $16,145 |
| 1957 | 31 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 28 | $27,803 |
| 1958 | 32 | 3 | 14 | 23 | 30 | $42,608 |
| 1959 | 31 | 3 | 16 | 25 | 31 | $32,462 |
| 1960 | 27 | 8 | 19 | 24 | 26 | $75,263 |
| 1961 | 25 | 6 | 20 | 23 | 24 | $61,091 |
| 1962 | 21 | 8 | 13 | 19 | 21 | $81,448 |
| 1963 | 20 | 7 | 14 | 16 | 20 | $128,230 |
| 1964 | 26 | 2 | 18 | 24 | 26 | $113,203 |
| 1965 | 21 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 19 | $57,771 |
| 1966 | 21 | 3 | 13 | 15 | 21 | $110,468 |
| 1967 | 25 | 4 | 16 | 19 | 22 | $184,065 |
| 1968 | 23 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 20 | $87,496 |
| 1969 | 26 | 2 | 10 | 16 | 25 | $95,267 |
| 1970 | 22 | 1 | 11 | 14 | 22 | $100,941 |
| 1971 | 24 | 4 | 10 | 20 | 24 | $162,896 |
| 1972 | 22 | 0 | 10 | 15 | 19 | $81,440 |
| 1973 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 20 | $87,275 |
| 1974 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 14 | $32,627 |
| 1975 | 20 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 16 | $59,018 |
| 1976 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 | $17,018 |
| 1977 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 17 | $21,950 |
| 1978 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 11 | $27,073 |
| 1979 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | $9,276 |
| 1980 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | $16,589 |
| 1981 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | $4,164 |
| 1982 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | $6,621 |
| 1983 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | $16,904 |
| 1984 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | $2,452 |
| 1985 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | $3,327 |
| 1986 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 1987 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $1,650 |
| 1988 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 1989 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $2,290 |
| 1990 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 1991 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | $7,738 |
| 1992 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 1993 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $1,970 |
| 1994 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 1995 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 1996 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 1997 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 1998 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 1999 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 2000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 2001 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 2002 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 2003 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| 2004 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
| TOTAL | 734 | 62 | 245 | 388 | 574 | $1,784,497 |
King-sized factoids
- Won 22 career Ryder Cup matches, a U.S. record
- Shares record for most consecutive PGA Tour seasons with a victory (17, 1955-71; tied with Jack Nicklaus)
- Led PGA Tour in wins in five different seasons, and was the Tour’s money winner four times
- One of three players to win four or more Masters (Nicklaus, 6; Tiger Woods, 4)
- Finished top 10 in 11 consecutive Masters and recorded 50 straight starts, from 1955 to 2004
- Holds record for largest final-round comeback in U.S. Open (seven shots, 1960)
- First golfer to be awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom (2004)
- Second golfer to be awarded Congressional Gold Medal (2009)
