Fans watch as Palmer passes torch to Mickelson

By Jason Scott Deegan, Senior Staff Writer

DETROIT, Mich. - Arnold Palmer strode up the 18th fairway of the Country Club of Detroit with legions of fans following behind him.

Even more golf fans had already encircled the 18th green. As he walked, trumpets blared, signaling the arrival of "the King."

There couldn't have been a more fitting end to a glorious day at the Turning Point Invitational, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of Palmer's 1954 U.S. Amateur victory at this very site.

Palmer, along with 24 other past U.S. Amateur champions, helped raise nearly $6 million for Cornerstone Schools in Detroit, but it was the 3,000 golf fans on the course who were the real winners.

The intimate setting created to mimic the 1954 Amateur allowed young and old alike to get within inches of Palmer, Phil Mickelson, Lanny Wadkins, Hank Kuehne and Mark O'Meara. In any other year, this tournament would have made a big splash on the Michigan golf scene, but with the Ryder Cup just around the corner, on Sept. 17-19 at Oakland Hills Country Club, the invitational turned into a fairly low-profile, casual round among friends. It was a true golf love-fest.

Palmer, 74, who is nearing the twilight of his career for playing in public, has always considered his 1-up victory over Robert Sweeney so important in his life, he wrote a book about it, titled "My Turning Point in Golf." He went on to win seven majors among his 62 victories on the PGA Tour. If he hadn't won that amateur, the former paint salesman has said he might never have tried professional golf.

"I'm so please because Arnie is such a great guy," said Harold "Red" Poling, a former Ford Motor Co. chief executive officer who helped organize the charity pro-am. "His recognition is greatly deserved. To raise $6 million these days is truly a feat. We were fortunate things came together so well. To have this many amateurs is unbelievable."

The tournament also served as a sort of a passing of the torch from Palmer to Mickelson, who is now arguably the most popular player on the planet. While Palmer's galleries were big all day, Mickelson's were twice the size at times. Mickelson's win at The Masters earlier this spring, coupled with his top five finishes at the U.S. Open and the British Open, have elevated his popularity off the charts.

"The irony of all this is Arnold going out and Phil coming in," said Rick Smith, Mickelson's teacher and the managing partner at Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Mich. "He is the right type of guy for people to follow."

Throughout Mickelson's round, Smith taped his pupil's swing and kept overzealous fans from interrupting play. Mickelson played solid - he three-putted for double bogey on the short par-4 15th and finished with a par 70 - in his Ryder Cuppreparation. Children swamped him for autographs after the round.

Palmer, meanwhile, engaged the fans in conversation and smiles all day. On the practice range, he got a surprise visit from Mr. Hockey, Detroit Red Wing great Gordie Howe, who played competitively almost as long as Palmer.

On the course, Palmer could do no wrong. Bathed in sunshine, the crowd, bring back memories of Arnie's Army, basked in the glow of watching a legend play in Michigan for possibly the last time. At the par-4 second, he hit a great bunker shot, drawing big cheers from the crowd.

He missed the green with his third shot at the par-5 third. Walking to his ball, he muttered, "I can't believe how bad that shot was."

Then a woman stepped in and begged for a photo. "If you talk to me like that, you have anything you want," Palmer said grinning.

Later, at the par-4 14th, Palmer hit a solid tee ball, then turned to a little boy and gave him a wink. When the boy's father asked for a photo, the shy child crumpled into his father's arms, crying.

Kuehne drew fans in droves with, what else, his big stick off the tee. At the same hole Mickelson doubled, Kuehne nailed his drive over the trees and into the greenside bunker, some 350 yards away. He got up and down for a simple birdie.

At the 207-yard 15th, he nuked a short iron over the green after getting some advice from a marshal that the hole was playing long. "What a bad caddy," Kuehne mocked. "I couldn't have hit it any better than that."

Fans couldn't go wrong wherever they turned. Bruce Fleisher (the 1968 U.S. Amateur champ), Billy Mayfair (1987), David Gossett (1999), Ricky Barnes (2002) and this year's winner, Ryan Moore, all made impressions on the galleries.

"This is truly historic and unbelievable," said Clark Durant, CEO of Cornerstone Schools. "When Red and I decided to tie the tournament to past U.S. Amateur champions, they all said you'll never get more than four or five together."

The money raised will fund the Arnold Palmer Education Fund at Cornerstone Schools, a collection of private schools on three separate campuses. The school, founded 13 years ago, currently enrolls about 800 students from 4-year-olds to eighth-graders who attend classes in an 11-month school year. The First Tee of Michigan Foundation, Children's Scholarship Fund, Warm-Up-To-Reading Program and The ART of Leadership Foundation also benefited.

An anonymous $500,000 gift announced several days before the invitational set the event off in style. A champions gala dinner the night before the golf outing and an auction raised significant funds as well.

"This was great for Michigan and great for golf," Smith said. "It celebrated Arnold, who changed the game forever. It was a home run."

September 2, 2004