‘That’s Like Being Half-Pregnant’: 7-Time Major Winner Late Arnold Palmer Had a Quarrel With an Official Before His Maiden Major Win

Winning the first Major of your career will always be special for a golfer. Arnold Palmer has 7 Majors to his name, but his 1958 Masters win will always be much closer to his heart. However, the late golfer’s crowning of Green Jacket wasn’t an easy route as he ended up having an argument with an official during his 1958 Major win in Augusta National.

Palmer’s win at the 1958 Masters marked the beginning of the journey of one of the greatest golfers. But his triumph was no easy walk, as the Hall of Famer had to endure the challenging rainy weather conditions a few days before the Major.

Though the prior rain also brought changes in a few regulations at Augusta National, ‘The King’ was declined an opportunity to exercise one such change. Let’s look at what the seven-time Major had to go through a few hours before winning his Maiden Major.

The misery of Arnold Palmer at the ‘Amen Corner’

Undoubtedly, Augusta National is one of the oldest courses in the world. In the most renowned golf club, the 12th hole is coined as the ‘Amen Corner’. In the final round of his 1958 Masters win, Palmer came across the notable hole. “My tee shot at twelve [155 yards, six-iron] flew the green”, said The King in a 2014 Golf Channel Column.

Since the heavy rainfall at Augusta National before, Arnold Palmer’s tee shot got embedded in the mud between the back bunker and the fringe. According to the golfer, the shot deserved a drop without penalty. “To me, an obvious drop without penalty”, he said.

Read More: ‘It Was Dead Silent’: Despite Winning a Tournament, Arnold Palmer Was Once Seriously Threatened by His Father With a Mindful Warning

However, the official standing didn’t agree with Palmer, as the golfer said, “But the official standing there, Arthur Lacey, said, ‘It’s only half-plugged.’ I said, ‘That’s like being half-pregnant”.The Hall of Famer further claimed that the golfers only played with wet weather rules on Sunday.

Palmer told Lacey, “I’m going to play two balls”, to which the official replied, “You don’t do that here”. Palmer received an unopposed free drop after slightly moving the indented ball into a puddle of casual water. However, he needed a chip and a few putts to make a double-bogey 5.

The legendary golfer dropped another ball over his shoulder as he returned to face the embedded scratch. It ultimately fell into place after rolling twice closer to the hole, and this time he stood up and shot for three. Nonetheless, the controversy didn’t faze Arnold Palmer much as he continued his top-notch form to bag the first Major of his career later that evening.

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