Arnold Palmer has died at the age of 87 on 25 September in Pittsburgh, according to the United States Golf Association (USGA).
The American golfer breathed his last at the UPMC Presbyterian Hospital on Sunday, where he was being treated for heart ailments from Thursday.
Known as "the King", Palmer won seven major championships, including four Masters titles. He has won 62 PGA Tour titles and 10 Champions Tour titles. He dominated the sport from 1960 to 1963, in which he won 29 PGA Tour events, and was named Sports Illustrated Magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" in 1960.
Palmer was born to a greenskeeper on 10 September, 1929 and took to golfing at the age of four. He turned professional in 1954, after winning the USGA Amatuer Championship. He also became the first golfer to have a career earning of $1m when he reached the figure in 1967.
In his heydays, Palmer had an army of fans cheering him, who were famously known as the "Arnie's Army", at each and every event. He played a big role in making the sport popular and greeted and rewarded his ardent fans with autographs on most occasions.
The golfing great who came from a humble background proved Golf was not an elitist game. Eight-time USGA champion Jack Nicklaus hailed him for his contribution to the sport.
"Arnold's place in history will be as the man who took golf from being a game for the few to a sport for the masses," Nicklaus said, as quoted by USGA.
In 2004, the then US President George W. Bush awarded Palmer with Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honour.
President Barack Obama posted a photograph of himself with Palmer on Twitter and lauded his generous nature. Notably, the golfer was also known to be involved in charity and founded the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, according to the Reuters.
Fellow Masters Champion Tiger Woods said in his Tweets that it would be hard to imagine the game without Palmer.
