Jersey legend pays tribute to the great Arnold Palmer

Friday 30 September 2016

Memories will come flooding back for Jersey golfing legend Tommy Horton MBE as the Ryder Cup starts today at Hazeltine.

The USA team are still in mourning for one of the greatest players ever to have picked up a club following Arnold Palmer’s death earlier this week.

Mr Horton was a good friend of Arnold Palmer’s having played against him many times in the 1960s and 1970s and he recalls some very happy memories of their encounters on the golf course - and also in the 19th hole. 

He said: “Arnie was a marvellous person, a really friendly, cheeky, lovely guy. He loved playing golf, loved a little glass or two of whisky after a day’s play and he was such a wonderfully attacking golfer. He had a following called ‘Arnie’s Army’ and you could see why. He absolutely threw himself at a golf course and never gave a thought to negative play. 

“I’m a little worried about the European team this year because for many years our team has taken great strength from the memory of Seve Ballesteros. I think Seve has been responsible for a real team ethic around the Europeans and I have a feeling the Americans will try and do the same to commemorate the passing of one of the true greats of the game, Arnold Palmer.”

Mr Horton first met Arnold Palmer at the Open Championships in Carnoustie in 1968 as they were paired together for 36 holes in the opening rounds. 

He said: “I was walking off the practice ground when a friend rocked up and told me I was paired with Arnold Palmer. I turned round and went straight back to the practice course again! He was one of the greats even then. 

“To play with Arnie was an absolute pleasure and I remember after we drove the first hole his caddie kept telling him he was about to play the wrong ball. Annie was a bit hard of hearing and was about to play his second shot, with my ball! Eventually, after shouting at him time and time again Arnie heard him and pulled away. Annie couldn’t believe I had out-driven him on the first hole. Had his caddie not told him it would have been a very famous two shot penalty!

“The Open Championship has a lot to thank Arnold Palmer for as he virtually single-handedly told his fellow countrymen that they had a duty to come over and play the Open. In the 1960s a lot of the top Americans were not playing in it, but Arnold said to them their golfing education would only be complete when they have played a major title on a proper British links course.

“Arnold started that trend and the Open Championship should be forever grateful to him.” 

Mr Horton, 75, was a force in British golf for many years, with five top ten finishes in the Open Championships and 15 pro titles. It secured his Ryder Cup debut in 1975 where he came up against Arnold Palmer again, as the seven-time major winner was non-playing captain for the USA team. 

He said: “Arnold was a brilliant captain as he had a really astute golfing brain. He was in charge of a terrific team and we just didn’t have the playing power to compete with them. Arnold loved the Ryder Cup and you could see how much it meant to him when the Americans won.”  

Mr Horton was club professional at the Royal Jersey Golf Club for 25 years and retired in 1999 following a hugely successful career on the European Senior Tour. 

He played in the Ryder Cup defeat in 1977 and was eating dinner alongside Jack Nicklaus after they had finishing playing each other when the ‘Golden Bear’ came up with a novel solution to the one-sidedness which had threatened the cup’s existence.   

He said: “Jack was a very sensible guy and he could see the bigger picture. He asked me if I had any clout with the Professional Golfer’s Association as he had an idea. I told him I was about to become captain of the PGA, so he said the Ryder Cup has got to change. The British and Irish team had to become a European team for it to remain relevant.

“Jack was absolutely right. That tournament in 1977 was the last one as Britain and Ireland and in 1979 we became Europe. The tournament has not looked back since and now the Europeans are the dominant team, not the Americans. It all started because Jack saw there was a way of fixing a problem.”

Mr Horton will be glued to the television for three days of compelling transatlantic combat, with memories returning of the days when he locked horns with Arnold Palmer and his fellow countrymen. 

“I’ve been honorary captain of the Junior Ryder Cup team for some years and will keep a close eye on that before the main course. It should be fascinating and it’s the first Ryder Cup I’ve not been at in person since the 1970s. 

“Of course I hope the Europeans win, but I have a feeling Arnold Palmer’s passing away will really spur on the Americans.”