Announcing The Official Arnold Palmer Opus

The Official Arnold Palmer Opus celebrates a sporting and cultural icon who has affectionately won the title, ‘The King,’ in the world of golf, Arnold Daniel Palmer.

The Opus will tell the iconic story of arguably the world’s greatest and most influential golfer through breath-taking photography, artifacts and interviews with protagonists who have competed against and played alongside the elder statesman of the courses and greens the world over. The stunning panoramic Opus format lends itself perfectly to telling the cinematic story of Arnold Palmer’s rise to becoming the number one golfer in the world and the darling of a nation with his own passionate group of fans affectionately referred to as ‘Arnie’s Army.’ It will chronicle his influence on the professional golfers in America to compete in Europe, becoming a trailblazer in the 1950’s and superstar for decades, elevating golf as a ‘must-watch’ sport for TV audiences, appealing to middle and working classes through his humble background and popularity to widen the participation of golf while simultaneously commercializing the sport for all who followed through his on-course charisma and business acumen.

Arnold said farewell to the Open Championship in 1995 from the home of golf itself – St. Andrews – more than three decades after he won it back to back in 1961 and 1962. He had played in his final U.S. Open at Oakmont and PGA Championship at Southern Hills the previous season and in 2004 he teed off in the Masters Tournament for the last time, his 50th consecutive appearance in that event. He announced his retirement from competitive play on the Champions Tour shortly thereafter.

This closed a remarkable chapter in a sporting career that saw him chalk up 92 professional wins, with 62 on the PGA Tour.

The Arnold Palmer Opus will re-live the greatest and most iconic moments of this illustrious career through breath-taking photography, interviews and artifacts that have been specially commissioned and photographed for inclusion in this unique work. Private and personal correspondence from fans, celebrities and heads of state, for the first time, will be published to illustrate the impact one man had and continues to have on a public that adores him and fellow professionals who revere him.

The Opus itself will run to 850 sensational pages, each measuring 20 inches x 20 inches (50 cm x 50 cm) weighing in excess of 98 lbs. (32 kg) . The Opus will be leather bound and presented in a beautiful, hand-made clamshell case especially designed to reflect Arnold Palmers’ legacy. In addition to the scale and quality delivered by every Opus, the limited Marquee Edition will be personally signed by the legend himself.

A second format of the Opus, The Classic Edition, will measure 15 inches x 15 inches. It will cover the same story as the Marquee Edition but with edited content. Still weighing in at approximately 15 kg, this Classic Edition is created to satisfy the demands of a much wider fan base at a more affordable price point.

Opus CEO, Karl Fowler comments:

For us all, Arnold Palmer personifies what a professional sportsman and icon should be. A gentleman on and off the green, a mentor for up-and-coming players and a role model for people in their everyday lives. The respect Arnold Palmer wins from his fellow professionals, both young and old, is beyond any other active sportsman in the world. tThis was abundantly clear after attending this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. As a special body of work, we’re thrilled and deeply honored to be telling this iconic story which truly transcends the world of golf and will be enjoyed by fans of all generations around the world’’

A final word from Mr. Palmer himself

Arnold Palmer:
“I am very excited to collaborate with Opus in the creation of this unique publication and honored that it will chronicle my life in such a grand fashion. I was overwhelmed when I first saw an earlier Marquee Opus edition and can hardly wait to open the pages of the Official Arnold Palmer Opus when this monumental undertaking is completed.”