Sam Saunders Playing Behind The Shadow Of His Granddad Arnold Palmers

Sam Saunders decisively strode to the first tee of Riviera Country Club looking no different from the 142 professional golfers who were preparing for PGA Tour’s regular stop at Los Angeles. His partners although they do not talk about it are all aware that Saunders has gold royalty in his blood.

Sam Saunders is the grandson of none other than Arnold Palmer, a 3-time winner of the tournament. One in a while, the group will be reminded of the connection when members of the gallery will stop Saunders to show him a photo on their Smartphone with his granddad. Saunders enjoys talking with fans that still remember and respect the older Palmer.

Because of a nagging pain on his ribs, Saunders was forced to pick up his ball on the 12^th ball; however, he did something that his granddad did better than others back then – he became an ambassador of the game. Saunders provided his group with support, offered them advice and helped them line their putts including keeping the group’s scorecard.

Jeremy Paul who was the representative of University of Colorado in the foursome said that everybody knew about the gold lineage of Saunders after he spoke at his grandfather’s memorial service. However, Saunders avoids bringing up his grandfather when questioned about the game. He gets asked all the time particularly since Palmer has seven major awards giving him the honour of being called “The King.”

Saunders was familiar with the L.A. Open which is now called the Genesis Open. He grew up watching it on TV. When Saunders turned 21, he started to seriously work with Palmer in preparation for a professional golf career. Palmer was not his official coach but he offered knowledge that many pros do not have. Saunders understands the pressure of being Palmer’s grandson but he wants to be his own person.

Bangkok golf course is one of a kind because of the unique 18-hole track that provides golfers many scoring opportunities. The course is significantly challenging even for the pros because of the presence of mounding and elevation changes. Flat lies are more of an exception than a general rule because many of the greens are strongly undulated.