Arnold Palmer and Ben Hogan might be two of the most legendary names in golf but when it comes to their relationship off the course, it wasn’t the greatest.
Hogan and Palmer won 16 majors between them as they helped dominate the 40s, 50s and 60s as a pairing.
When everyone who plays the game now looks back and thinks of pioneers of the sport, both Palmer and Hogan will get a mention along with other great names like Jack Nicklaus, Sam Snead and more recently, Tiger Woods.
However, just because two golfers are at the top of their game doesn’t mean that they have to like each other.
In fact, when it came to Palmer and Hogan, the feeling from the Palmer side of things was very much clear.
Why Arnold Palmer didn’t like Ben Hogan
Every sport has players where there is a respect there in terms of their abilities and successes but when it comes to actually liking each other, it’s harder to forge a relationship.
Indeed, in an interview published by ESPN back in 2016, it was made abundantly clear what Palmer thought of Hogan.
“P—– me off,” Palmer is quoted as saying after overhearing Hogan question his place in the Masters.
“P—–! Hogan was another one of the g—d—-guys on tour as far as I was concerned. He was no big guy. He was no big deal, and I didn’t care what he said. All I wanted to do was beat him, and I did.”
It is then suggested that Palmer was infuriated by Hogan for not using his name, with Hogan instead calling him “fella.”
Furthermore, Palmer also apparently made his distaste for Jack Nicklaus known, albeit he would get a modicum of revenge as he beat both Hogan and Nicklaus to the 1960 Masters title.
Hogan and Palmer’s spat is not the only fallout in PGA Tour history
We see this in most sports and golf is no exception. Sometimes, players just do not like each other.
In recent years we’ve seen Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau fall out, albeit they do seem to have reconciled a touch.
Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods have had a run-in, while few can forget Seve Ballesteros and Paul Azinger’s passionate clashes.
Finally, Tom Watson and Gary Player are two more legends who have clashed after Watson famously accused Player of cheating. That feud was short-lived, however, with the story well known that Watson felt bad about what he thought was a private comment making it into the media.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
