LATROBE, Pa.(AP) — Balot ng kalungkutan ang lahat sa pagbibigay ng parangal sa namayapang si Arnold Palmer.
At walang mas lulungkot pa maliban sa kaanak ng golf icon kundi ang mahigpit na karibal na si Jack Nicklaus.
“I hurt like you hurt,” panimulang pahayag ni Nicklaus. “You don’t lose a friend of 60 years and don’t feel an enormous loss.”
Isinagawa ang funeral service nitong Martes (Miyerkules sa Manila) sa Saint Vincent College – sa hometown ni Palmer – kung saan umalingawgaw din ang tawanan mula sa hindi malilimutang kabanata sa buhay ng tinaguriang ‘The King’.
Goodbye PBA? John Amores, tinanggalan na ng professional license!
Umabot sa 1,000 golf dignitaries mula sa iba’t ibang bansa na tinawag ni dating LPGA Commissioner Charlie Mechem na “elite battalion of Arnie’s Army,” ang pumuno sa makasaysayang basilica.
May mahigit 4,000 tagahanga naman ang naghihintay sa labas ng simbahan para magbigay ng kanilang huling respeto kay Palmer. Pumanaw ang golf icon nitong Setyembre 25 sa edad na 87. Nagkaroon ng pribadong programa nitong Huwebes at isinagawa ang public service matapos ang Ryder Cup upang makasama ang buong koponan ng bagong kampeong US Team.
“We were looking down at the air strip and the fog just suddenly lifted,” pahayag ni Ernie Els.
“This is a beautiful day. We’ve all met different people in life. He was a man who didn’t change. It didn’t matter if you cut the grass or you were a president. He was the same with everybody. He was just ... he was the man.”
Naitala ni Palmer ang 62 title sa PGA Tour, kabilang ang pitong major championships.
