"I never forgot that story."
Nice story on round one at Bay Hill from Doug Ferguson that included this Jason Gore-Arnold Palmer anecdote. Gore received a sponsor's exemption this week from Palmer.
He was 11 when his family went to Pittsburgh one summer and Gore had his mother drive him to Latrobe Country Club. They walked into the pro shop and asked if the King was around, and before long Palmer drove up in a cart that looked like a tractor.
"He took a picture with us, signed a scorecard and he said, 'Son, I'm going to go hit balls. Would like to come watch?'" Gore said. "I sat right on the little slope right behind the first tee and watched Mr. Palmer hit balls for about 45 minutes. And from that point on, I knew I wanted to be a professional golfer."
And...
Gore told Palmer last year at a corporate outing how much he had influenced his life. When he saw him earlier this month at Seminole, he thanked Palmer for the exemption. Palmer winked at him and replied, "I never forgot that story."
"The littlest things he does for a punk dressed in surf clothes who was trespassing on his property changes lives," Gore said. "He's got that power, and that's what makes him the King. And that's why he's the greatest person to this game."
Thursday, March 26, 2009 at 07:17 PM
Reader Comments (7)
How about the promo of next weeks Houston open with Phil wearing a cowboy hat? What is that all about?