At Arnold Palmers funeral, his grandson stepped out of his shadow

ORLANDO, Fla. — Growing up as Arnold Palmer’s grandson, Sam Saunders always figured his life-changing moment would come in the form of a Masters green jacket (his grandfather won four of them) or some other memorable achievement on the golf course.

Never in his 29 years did Saunders think his defining moment in life would come while clinging nervously to a podium before a standing-room-only church in Latrobe, Pa., delivering one of the most poignant, composed eulogies you’ll ever hear.

For his grandfather.

But that’s how it played out for Saunders, a thoughtful man who, as a professional golfer himself, has spent his life wrestling with the impossible task of living up to what Arnold Palmer did on the golf course.

Saunders’ speech, which was delivered without a single note in hand, lasted six powerful minutes and blew the minds of the hundreds of people in attendance and the millions who watched it broadcast live on the Golf Channel.

Saunders drove every fairway and hit every green in regulation with the eulogy. His grandfather would have been proud. It was perfect.

This week — five months removed from the eulogy — Saunders finds himself in the spotlight again, as an ambassador of sorts for the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, where he has been placed in one of the PGA Tour’s featured pairings alongside Rory McIlroy and Brandt Snedeker.

Saunders, a player who’s yo-yoed between the PGA Tour and the Web.com Tour since he turned pro in 2009, is not used to being in the spotlight. So he conceded that he was “shocked’’ by how his eulogy came off, because he said, “I was a mess leading into it.’’

“I just spoke from the heart and spoke the truth as my granddad always did,’’ Saunders said.

The most priceless anecdote from the eulogy came when he spoke about how Arnie always would take his call whenever he reached out, including one time when Saunders asked him, “Where are you?”

“I’m with the president,” Arnie replied.

“The president of what?”

“The United States.”

“Why did you answer the phone?”

“Well, I wanted to talk to you.”

Saunders said the reaction to his eulogy has created “a big change in my life, for sure. For me personally, there’s been a lot more attention.’’

Saunders said he expected this first tournament without his grandfather around to be “a very emotional week, but it should be a celebration.’’

“There are still moments of sadness, because we obviously miss him,’’ he said. “We all miss him; it’s not just me. People come up and say, ‘I’m sorry for your loss.’ But the truth is we all lost somebody that meant a great deal to us and did a lot for all of us. Not just me.

“When I look at it subjectively as just a young guy that plays on the PGA Tour, I owe my entire career to him — not because I’m his grandson but because I’m a guy who plays on the PGA Tour and we’re all out here because of what he did.’’

It has not always been a smooth ride for Saunders. When your grandfather is Arnold Palmer and you choose golf as your profession, there are going to be unrealistic expectations and unreasonable judgments.

Saunders endured all of those.

He’s played 80 PGA Tour events and 80 on the Web.com Tour and is still seeking his first win. His best career finish was a runner-up at the 2015 Puerto Rico Open.

“When I was younger I felt pressure,’’ Saunders said. “I felt maybe the need to — I hate the term actually — but make a name for myself. He was hard on me and probably wanted me to hate him there for a minute. I never did, but we did butt heads. He was just being tough on me, tough-love kind of deal.

“But as our relationship grew, I began to appreciate more who he was and what he did, and he was my friend, too. We had a good time together, we really did. I think the key is to embrace it, and I have because I had such a great relationship with him.’’

Saunders eventually came to the realization that trying to live up to his grandfather’s name was a futile fight.

“That doesn’t mean anything to me,’’ he said. “I am who I am. I’m married with kids. I mean the world to my wife and kids. That’s really, at the end of the day, all that matters to me. I don’t need to compete against my grandfather’s career. Nobody can. I don’t care how many tournaments you win, nobody’s going to compete in terms of what he did for the game.’’

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