What happened in the one tournament Arnold Palmer played where his caddie told him exactly what to do on every shot

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Arnold Palmer once suggested that there was just one tournament throughout his entire career which saw him attempt to hit every single shot exactly where his caddie told him.

Caddying for Arnold Palmer must have been both a blessing and a slightly daunting experience. Of course, Palmer was known as The King for a reason, and remains such an influential figure within the game nearly a decade on from his passing.

He won seven major titles, so there would have been plenty of pressure on the person carrying his bag around a golf course.

That pressure would have ramped up enormously on the one caddie tasked with instructing Palmer where to hit every single shot he would play in a major championship.

The tournament which saw Arnold Palmer’s caddie tell him where to hit every single shot

Palmer is often credited as the player who inspired many more American golfers to travel over to the British Isles to take part in The Open Championship. While he was far from the first American to take part – Ben Hogan won on his only Open Championship appearance in 1953 – it was significant that Palmer played in the event 23 times during his career.

In fact, he very nearly emulated Hogan when he made his debut in 1960. Palmer shot a 68 in the final round at St Andrews to finish one shot behind Kel Nagle.

And speaking to Golfing World in 2014, Palmer explained how important having local knowledge of the Old Course up his sleeve proved to be.

“I had a great caddie by the name of Tip Anderson who knew St Andrews better than anybody in the world. He knew where you had to hit the ball off of every shot,” he said.

“It’s probably the one tournament that I can remember where every shot that I played at St Andrews in The Open I was told where to hit it, and if I did it properly, it worked quite well. I felt like I should have won.

“Weather and some other things happened that were unusual, I remember The Open had never been called up until that time, and it never was extended beyond the weekdays into the weekend, so that was another exceptional situation.”

Arnold Palmer did not have to wait long for Open Championship glory

Remarkably, Palmer did not have to wait too long to lift the Claret Jug. He won at Royal Birkdale in 1961 and retained his title the following year at Royal Troon.

It was actually Nagle who finished second to Palmer in 1962, albeit six shots back.

That would not only prove to be the final time that Palmer won The Open, but it also ended up being his last top five finish in the event.

Palmer played in The Open Championship for the last time in 1995. Funnily enough, it was that week at St Andrews which proved to be something of a passing of the torch moment with a 19-year-old by the name of Tiger Woods making his own bow in the event.