Golf-Palmer accorded statesman-like status as tributes flow

By Mark Lamport-Stokes CHASKA, Minnesota, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Very few figures from the sports world have been mourned as great statesmen or global leaders but iconic golfer Arnold Palmer was accorded that status with U.S. President Barack Obama leading the tributes on Monday. Obama described Palmer as "the American Dream come to life", following the death on Sunday of the seven-times major champion at the age 87 due to heart complications. Palmer is widely regarded as the man most responsible for popularising golf worldwide as television was coming of age in the early 1960s and every leading player in the modern era acknowledges the huge debt they owe the man known as 'The King'.

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