They say never meet your heroes.
The implication is that doing so will fail to live up to your expectations and the resulting bad experience will negate what they meant to you. While there may be some truth in that adage, they should’ve added one caveat – unless your hero happens to be Arnold Palmer.
Any time spent with Palmer was time well spent, but the first encounter with the Arnold Palmer Invitational’s namesake had a way of leaving a lasting impression.
Here are the remembrances of more than a half-dozen PGA Tour pros past and present, who enjoyed that privilege before his passing in September 2016, and never forgot their first encounter with Mr. Palmer – and for good reason.
