The game has been good to me to this point, and I don't want to ruin it by pushing it too far. It's a painful way to play. And, yes, sometimes it's painful to watch. In the process of making a gruesome double-bogey on the 18th hole on Friday, Palmer made a swing that resembled a man trying to hack out a backyard irrigation ditch. His putting touch has disappeared and he doesn't hit it particularly far anymore.
Golf is different from other sports.
You play for yourself, first of all, so Arnie is not hogging any young buck's spot in the lineup. And, finally, fans take a different expectation to a golf tournament than they do to most other sporting events. But golf, even at its highest level, isn't necessarily for the flat-bellied. A couple of golfers on their way to a 65 will be along in a few minutes, and, anyway, it's Arnie for heaven's sake. Palmer is a singular phenomenon in our culture.