Palmer is the model golf hero

ORLANDO, Fla. – Arnold Palmer bought Bay Hill Club & Lodge because he loved the golf course and wanted it for his own, not having any idea where it all would lead.

Now his name adorns a PGA Tour event that has been a staple of the Florida swing for 35 years. And the Palmer name is on two hospitals in the Orlando area that specialize in children.

Oh, and he's having dinner with Kate Upton this week.

"Did you see this?" Palmer said Monday, holding up the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue with Upton on the cover. "She's coming here. Did you know that?"

He put it back on his desk, gave it one last look, and then grabbed a stack of papers to place over the magazine.

"I better cover this up," said Palmer, who's known as "The King." He grinned. The man from Latrobe, Pa., is timeless.

How a supermodel wound up at Bay Hill explains so much about Palmer, 83, who built his kingdom by being a man of the people.

Upton's manager is Lisa Benson, whose father is from Punxsutawney, Pa., and used to play golf regularly with Palmer at Latrobe Country Club. She was looking for a job at IMG, which, in addition to managing sports and entertainment, also represents top models. Her father talked to Palmer, who talked to IMG to arrange an interview. She got the job and years later connected with Upton.

Upton grew up in Melbourne, on the central coast of Florida, and her parents were huge Palmer fans. Given the back story, Upton thought it would be a great idea to come to Bay Hill, meet with Palmer and see the work he is doing with the hospitals. She also plans to take part in a social media campaign involving the "Arnold Palmer" tea drink.

So in a roundabout way, a casual round of golf leads to dinner with a supermodel?

"That's been a fun deal," Palmer said when he finished telling the story.

There have been thousands of casual rounds like that for Palmer, whose passion for golf never dies. There have been more friends than he can count. There probably are more stories like this, all because he takes an interest in people.

"It's easy," Palmer said. "And I love it."

Palmer picked up a sheet of paper from his desk. It was a letter to David Frost, who won the Toshiba Classic on the Champions Tour the day before. "Congratulations on your strong performance in the Toshiba Classic," he said, reading the letter aloud. "He's playing pretty good."

Palmer reached for a black pen and signed his name, as famous as any signature in sports.

The other letter on his desk was for Kevin Streelman, who won the Tampa Bay Championship for his first PGA Tour title in 153 tries. Palmer watched most of the back nine on TV and was impressed with what he saw. He had this letter placed in Streelman's locker downstairs.

It's a tradition like no other. For years, Palmer has written a note of congratulations to the winners on every tour every week.

Palmer looked down at his desk and found two index cards that had been marked up, and then started rattling off numbers. The 443 beds in the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies. The 13,000 babies born last year alone. The only high-level trauma center in central Florida dedicated to children. More than 3,500 employees and 450 doctors employed by both hospitals.

"That's just a few of the things that we are pushing," Palmer said. "It's a big deal. We'd like to be the No. 1 children's hospital in the world for children and women."

The Arnold Palmer Invitational starts Thursday with one of the strongest fields among PGA Tour events this year. Tiger Woods is the defending champion and a seven-time winner, with a chance to go back to No. 1 in the world with another victory.

Could Palmer have imagined any of this when he first showed up at Bay Hill in 1965 for an exhibition and fell in love with the place? "Hell, I didn't have anything in mind except getting a golf course and hitting balls," he said with a laugh. "And it worked."

An assistant came into the office. Some Japanese photographers were hoping to take his picture. They were outside his door and when Palmer saw them, he rattled off his best Japanese greeting. His voice was animated. The words probably didn't come out the right way. It didn't matter. They all laughed together and Palmer wrapped his arms around one of them and gave her a big hug.

• Read more articles by Doug Ferguson

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