Arnold Palmer’s Grandson Believes Arnie Would be “Disappointed” by the Current State of Golf

If there was anything close to royalty in golf, many would agree that Arnold Palmer was it.

He was known as “The King,” after all.

Besides the popular iced tea/lemonade combo, Palmer is synonymous with a gentlemanly and pleasant attitude around the world of golf.

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In his later years, there was nothing Palmer liked more than having the world’s best golfers gather at Bay Hill in Orlando, Florida, for his annual tournament.

If Palmer, who died in 2016, were still around today, several of those top golfers wouldn’t be competing in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Those on the LIV Golf circuit – like Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Kopeka, Bryson DeChambeau, and Cameron Smith – are ineligible to compete in “Arnie’s Tournament” due to being suspended from the PGA Tour.

So, what would Arnie do?

While we will never know what Palmer would think of golf’s current fractured state, grandson Sam Saunders feels like he has a good idea.

Sam Saunders has a pretty good idea how grandfather Arnold Palmer would feel about the state of the pro game https://t.co/nLQkySHcXF pic.twitter.com/4ZFvVaGAxu

— Golfweek (@golfweek) December 13, 2023

“Based on my relationship with him and how I feel about the game of golf and how important it is to keep it accessible and fun, I can’t imagine he wouldn’t be disappointed because I know I am,” Saunders told Golfweek.

While Saunders, who has played in 158 PGA Tour events, says that he nor his grandfather likely would not fault players for taking big signing bonuses from LIV, he does take issue with golfers getting a guaranteed payday in a growing number of tournaments.

“It’s important that everyone remembers that it should be a game that brings people together, not push them apart,” Saunders said.

“Personally, I’d love to see the PGA Tour go back to its roots and stick to a little bit more of the tradition of the game. I won’t candy-coat it at all: I’m not a fan of limited-field, no-cut events. That’s not what the game is about. What makes it unique is there is no guaranteed money, it’s a performance-based sport.”

That aspect is so important to the Palmer family that they were able to get the PGA Tour to implement a small cut for the 2024 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Originally, it was to be a no-cut Signature Event.

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Saunders is coming off several injuries and played on the Korn Ferry Tour this year. He will be at the PGA Tour’s Q School this week at TPC Sawgrass to try and work his way back to the main tour.

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