During the LIV Golf Miami tournament's press conference, Phil Mickelson, who was close with Arnold "The King" Palmer, recounted a 1950s encounter involving golf legend Ben Hogan.

Mickelson said that Palmer found out he had been invited to join Ben Hogan for a Monday practice round before the 1958 Masters. The problem was that Palmer had just lost a playoff at the Azalea Open Invitational in Wilmington, North Carolina, the day before.

“They go out and play, and Arnold is tired, he hadn't slept, and he had just won, and he's emotionally spent, and he kind of hit it everywhere, he slapped it around,” Mickelson said.

“He overheard as they were having lunch and he goes to wash his hands, he kind of hears Hogan say, ‘How did that kid get into this tournament?’ That really got him upset... He really looked up to Ben Hogan,” Mickelson said.

Palmer spent the night driving more than five hours just to make it to Augusta in time to tee it up with Hogan and Dow Finsterwald. Due to fatigue, Palmer wasn't able to play at his best.

Mickelson said Palmer remembered Hogan always referring to him as “boy” instead of using his name, something Palmer admitted he never liked. According to Mickelson, Palmer said the comment motivated him even more, and he later went on to win the Masters that year.

Palmer had a point to prove, and he went on to win the first of his four Masters titles. It was also the first of his seven major titles as he won by one stroke over Doug Ford and Fred Hawkins.

Mickelson mistakenly cited 1956 during his retelling, while Palmer won The Masters in 1958.

Palmer’s Strong Legacy At Augusta

The Masters was Palmer’s best performing major as he won four Green Jackets compared to two Open Championships and one U.S. Open.

Following the 1958 win, he again secured the Masters title two years later. A score of 6-under par helped him secure a one-stroke victory over fellow American Ken Venturi.

Two years later, Palmer secured another Masters title after a hard-fought three-way playoff (the first in tournament history) against the greats Gary Player and Dow Finsterwald.

His last Masters win was also his last major win in 1964. It was also his biggest win at Augusta, a margin of six strokes over Dave Marr and the “Golden Bear” Jack Nicklaus.

What are your thoughts on Mickelson’s story? Share them in the comments.

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Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Rudra Dubey