Arnie's Army in salute to The King

David Smith13 April 2012

One shot will separate leader Davis Love III from Sergio Garcia and Angel Cabrera going into the second round of the US Masters here today.

Defending champion Tiger Woods lurks two more shots behind. The prospect, therefore, is for an enthralling 18 holes in which four of the world's finest players will give their all.

Yet, however well Love, Garcia, Cabrera and Woods perform, they will only be the supporting cast to a legend who is about to hit his last competitive shots.

Arnold Palmer, 72, has announced that his 48th Masters will be his last. He won this major four times and is entitled to an invitation for as long as he is able to swing a club.

But he came away from signing for a first-round score of 89, 17-over-par, equal to his worst-ever upon these rolling Georgia acres, to announce: "That's it. I think it's time. My golf has been pretty lousy of late and it doesn't warrant being here playing."

Palmer's legion of fans are known as 'Arnie's Army'. They, in turn, have hailed him as 'The King' and nowhere has his reign been appreciated more than at Augusta. Hootie Johnson, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, saluted Palmer by saying: "We owe a debt to Arnold. He has shown us how the game of golf is supposed to be played."

Palmer's reputation and record of achievement will inspire standing ovations from a gallery lining all 7,270 yards of the course. It will be a special farewell even though he will miss the half-way cut.

"It will be emotional," said Palmer. "But these things happen and I'm not sad about it.

"I look at the young people hitting the ball really very, very well and that tells me something.

"I'm hitting the hell out of the ball, then I look up and they are 100 yards in front of me. That's a pretty good message."

There were several messages to be read in the leaderboard. Historically, there was a nice symmetry in the fact that Love's father, Davis Love Jnr, led at the end of the first round of the Masters in 1964, which was the last year Palmer won here.

In the present, it is clear that the lengthened Augusta course now plays into the hands of big hitters such as Love, who carded a five-under 67, Garcia, Cabrera, of Argentina, who was level with his Spanish rival on 68, and Ireland's Padraig Harrington who shot a 69.

Heavy rain greeted the early starters to the second round, and Sandy Lyle dropped three shots in five holes to go four over.

Lee Westwood, three over overnight, lost another shot at the third. Like late starters Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie and Nick Faldo, who were also three over par, the former European No1 needed a good round to avoid joining Palmer in making an early exit.

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