Michigan Wolverines golfer receives surprise letter from Arnold Palmer

UM golfer Nick Carlson received a congratulatory letter from Arnold Palmer two weeks after the legend’s death.

University of Michigan sophomore golfer Nick Carlson surprised the golf world by reaching the semifinals of the recent U.S. Amateur tournament. Despite being ranked on the edge of the top 2,000 amateurs in the world, the 20-year old nearly reached the final of the biggest amateur tournament in the world. In the process, he caught the eye of The King, Arnold Palmer.

Palmer, who had penned hundreds of letters to young golfers before his death, mailed a letter to Carlson on September 8. The legend passed away on September 25 at the age of 87. Palmer mailed the letter to Carlson’s address at the Ravines Golf Club in Saugatuck, one of the six Michigan courses designed by Palmer.

When he returned to the course on October 7, over two weeks after Palmer’s passing, Carlson received the surprise letter.

“Utter shock, really,” the golfer told The Detroit News on Thursday. “Like, I never expected it. It’s just something really cool and almost a priceless moment, in my opinion.”

“I understand that you are a serious student of our great game of golf,” Palmer wrote in his three-paragraph letter to Carlson, “as well as a good student and player at the University of Michigan.”

“Keep up the good playing,” the seven-time major winner concluded. “I wish you the very best in whatever pursuit you choose to follow in the future.”

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Since receiving the letter, Carlson has framed the memento. His season has also gotten off to a good start. In his last outing, Carlson finished in ninth place at the University of Alabama’s Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, scoring an even-par 210.

“I’ve never been able to say that I knew Mr. Palmer or met him in any fashion, and to get that 10 days [after his death] was pretty special,” Carlson said.