Arnie's Desert Campaign

Spiro T. Agnew is a tough man to upstage--even on a golf course. True to form, the Vice President stole Act I at the $140,000 Bob Hope Desert Classic in Palm Springs with a dramatic pair of tee shots, both of which sliced into the gallery, causing something of a stir. But the closing curtain and encore went to an equally renowned performer: Arnold Palmer. In the kind of cliffhanging finish for which he is famous, Palmer coolly rammed home an 18-ft. putt on the first hole of a sudden-death play-off last week to defeat Ray Floyd and pick up his first tour victory in 14 months.

The gap between his 56th and 57th tour victories had many of Arnie's Army worried that their hero, at 41, might be over the hill. Many observers felt that golf's most exciting pro had become too fat financially, too comfortable for the rugged grind of the tour. Palmer may have shared some of their concern: since New Year's he has not had a cigarette or a drink. The quiet life and concentration on his game have obviously paid off. "I haven't felt this good in 20 years," he crowed after the tournament. "I've been in position to win ten or twelve times in the past year or so, and either through my own mistake or someone else's playing real well, I lost. That sort of thing has to enter your thinking. I stood out there asking myself, 'Well, is it going to happen again?' "

It did not, and Arnie is now $28,000 richer. Not that his indifferent performance over the past year has sent him to the bread lines. Although he finished no higher than second place in individual competition during 1970, the president of Arnold Palmer Enterprises managed to scratch out $128,853 in earnings on the tour.

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