Arnold Palmer's grandson hopes he's on the right trail

Friday, 10 September 2010 19:42

SANDY — There is something symbolic about golfer Sam Saunders hiking on Hidden Peak in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Wednesday, and to Secret Lake the day before.

Something about climbing every mountain, fording every stream and following every rainbow.

"I love that stuff," he said.

Saunders didn't reach the top of Hidden Peak, but only because he ran out of time. He had to get back to work, which brings up that other mountain he's been meaning to summit: Getting his PGA Tour card. When you're golf legend Arnold Palmer's grandson, the trail can be steep. There are endless questions, each related to the same thing: How does he avoid getting trampled by Arnie's Army?

Saunders is in Salt Lake this week, playing in the Nationwide Tour's Utah Championship on a sponsor exemption. His hope is to make his own name. It has been an uneven ride so far. This year, there was the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where he tied for 70th. Also, there was a tie for 50th in — what else? — the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The high point came in the Honda Classic, where a tie for 17th earned over $68,000. He has made the cut in three of seven PGA Tour events but missed on two Nationwide tries.

But spotty results don't mean he isn't making news. As the grandson of golf's most beloved player, he bears a heavy load. Saunders is liked by players, fans and Tour staffers. But Palmer? He's still as popular as chocolate. Remember him striding down the fairway to the roar of the crowd?

Sheer adoration.

It would be easy to get a complex if you were Saunders (his mother is Palmer's youngest daughter). Truth is, it wasn't exactly a "Let's go fishin" kind of relationship.

Palmer wasn't around enough for that.

When you lead armies, staying home is seldom an option.

Asked how much time they spent together as he was growing up, Saunders said: "Not as much as you would think. He was always busy when I was younger and now when he's not as busy, I am."

Still, when Saunders played last week in the the Nationwide Tour's Mylan Classic, Palmer showed up to watch three holes.

Was it a distraction?

"It can be, but he tries not to be," said Saunders. "That's why he doesn't come out much."

That Saunders would choose golf really wasn't as obvious as it seems. Growing up in Orlando, he "loved all sports" and thus didn't hone in on golf until he was 13. Neither parents nor grandparents pushed him in that direction.

"I liked golf on my own," he said, which stands to reason on a couple of levels. First, it was always available. He was usually at Bay Hill, a club built by Palmer and now operated by Saunders' parents. Second, it's in his genes. His driving at the Honda Classic in March inspired Tour veteran Rocco Mediate to tell The Palm Beach Post, "It's sick. Mr. Palmer hit far back in his day, but not like this. He's (Saunders) going to be good. He's got the genes."

He's also got the Palmer levelheadedness. Among Arnie's most endearing traits was his ability to be normal. He would wave to the crowd and give it the old grateful Arnie smile as he passed. Saunders has some of that, too. Go ahead, make comparisons. He doesn't even wince.

"That's fine; it's the main subject," he said. "I understand. It's what you've got to ask."

Bring up his grandfather and Saunders gamely goes through the litany. Palmer did instruct him, though it was always in a low-key way, and mostly regarding the mental aspects. His grandfather was definitely an influence, but it was Saunders' parents that shaped him. Is Arnie a tough taskmaster?

"When we're playing, we're just playing," Saunders said. "If I'm hitting it on the range, or in a game, he'll give me a few pointers. But it's always short and to the point."

In other words, a pretty ordinary relationship.

"I try to do my own thing," he continued. "I want to become a good player in my own right. Hopefully I can become a great player."

Despite the relationship, Saunders isn't an opportunist. He has always avoided playing the I'm-related-to-Arnie card.

"I never once in my life volunteered that information," he said. "If they ask me I'll tell them, but I don't go looking for it."

So it goes, legend and novice, grandfather and grandson. Saunders' short-term goal is to get through Q-school; long term is to be among the best players on the Tour.

Just like you-know-who.

"Hopefully," added the progeny of Arnie, "I start playing well and you can talk to me about the tournaments. But that's up to me."

You never know.

The peak is sometimes just a few yards up the trail.