Long live the King as Arnie retires from his greatest stage

For a moment, it seemed as if the earth had stopped spinning. A hush descended and, then, the silver-haired figure walked from the practice putting green.

A Pinkerton security man started to clap, and so did everyone around, and the spontaneous outpouring of emotion grew so loud that it caused those players over on the ninth green to pause.

Vijay Singh stopped examining his line and cast a glance over to the first tee, and a grin crossed his face as he realised what was happening. By the time the security men and the FBI men had escorted Arnold Palmer from the putting green to the tee-box, the noise resembled the sort of din associated with someone holing a winning putt on the final green on Masters Sunday.

The men in green jackets shook his hand, and his playing partners - the young amateur Robert Hamilton and Japan's Toru Taniguchi - knew they were privileged to be sharing the moment with the man himself. But, then, this was something pretty special.

It's not always that you're present to witness a legend say goodbye to his most beloved tournament and, while Arnie's Army of fans - young and old - gave him a rousing farewell, the man of the people waved and appeared to wipe away a tear or two before hitting off the first tee in competition for the final time at Augusta National.

On Thursday, he had four-putted the first green and, there and then, his decision to call it a day from competing in the Masters was made. Yesterday, fittingly, the rain had stopped falling in time for the old maestro to start his round, and the manner of his start gave a reason why he was bowing out. A bogey, followed by another.

That's been the story too often these days, and the reason why the 66th Masters will be remembered as Palmer's last.

The departure has been coming for a long time, and wasn't at all unexpected. The confirmation which we've waited for finally came on Thursday, after an opening round of 89. It was a round that saw him go triple bogey-double bogey-double bogey to finish his front nine. It was a round that produced the kind of golf for which Palmer should not be remembered.

"That is it - tomorrow (Friday) will be my last competitive round in the Masters," he said.

"I have been thinking about this for some time. It doesn't mean I'm going to quit playing golf, but just have some fun, play a few senior events and some other selected tournaments.

"Tomorrow will be emotional but I am not sad," he added. "I'm just going to fade away and this is the time. There is no question Augusta has meant an awful lot to me over the years, perhaps the one tournament that kick-started my career. I love Augusta."

Defending champion Tiger Woods said: "The course has just got too long for him. It's tough for all of us golf fans, but Arnold is certainly the King. Sometimes you just have to hang it up."

Not since 1983 had Palmer made a cut at the Masters, and yet the aura of the man survived. But it was increasingly obvious that Palmer, who came back to shoot 89-87 in 1999 after battling prostate cancer, was not able to conquer the Augusta National course any longer and, rather than waiting for a letter asking him to step aside, he made the move himself.

When he made the decision after his first round, Palmer - a four-time Masters champion - talked of his favourite memories. They included the embedded ball ruling that sparked his first victory in 1958; the defiant chip-in on the 16th to win again in 1964; the premature celebration and shaking hands with spectators by the 18th tee-box in 1961 before he double-bogeyed that final hole to lose to Gary Player; the day he first walked the course in 1955 and knew that he would love the place.

"There's no question, I love Augusta," insisted Palmer and, from the reaction of the crowds that lined the first fairway yesterday, Augusta loved him.

Palmer could yet return as an honorary starter, although a decision has yet to be made known on that. As far as Palmer is concerned, though, he will be back in some guise.

"I think enough of this golf tournament and the people that are playing it and the people that run it to say, 'Hey, I don't need to be here'. But I will support it until the day I die, and I'd like to think that I will come here and be part of it. But as far as playing is concerned, I'm done.

"I don't think of it as retiring on my own terms, I just think it is time. You know it is time to quit when you look at the gallery and you either know them all by their first name or they're a relative."

So it was that Palmer - a man with the most consecutive starts in Masters history (48) and the most consecutive sub-par rounds (seven) - donned his yellow polo shirt on April 12th, 2002, and spent his final day not so much walking the fairways as waving from the fairways as he said goodbye to the masses.

The swashbuckling player who was responsible for bringing golf to the masses was making way for another generation.