Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s Grandson: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Sam Saunders is the 29-year-old grandson of the great Arnold Palmer, the golf legend who died on Sunday night at age 87. Saunders has been a pro-golfer since 2006. He has a son with his wife, Kelly, who also has a son from a previous relationship.

Here is a look at Saunders’ life. He is scheduled to speak at his grandfather’s funeral.

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1. Saunders Lost His Sense of Smell After an Electric Scooter Accident

In August 2015, Saunders fell off an electric scooter, hitting his head. According to NBC News, he was hospitalized for two nights and suffered a concussion, fractured skull and epidural hematoma. Although the injuries could have ended his career, he only lost his sense of smell.

“I don’t have a sense of smell at all. It’s 100 percent gone, which is weird. Taste is not quite there. But those are things I can live with,” Saunders told NBC News. “All things considered, I’m doing great. I’m very lucky to be as well as I am.”

Saunders said that the one smell he misses the most is “coffee in the morning.”

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2. His Wife Found Out Who His Grandfather Is Using Google

In a 2015 New York Times profile, Saunders revealed that his wife, Kelly, only learned who his maternal grandfather was after doing a Google search a month after they started dating.

“I told him, ‘I Googled you today,’” Kelly told the Times. “And he said, ‘Oh, yeah? And what did you find out?’ I said, ‘That you have a pretty famous grandfather.’ And he said, ‘Yes, and I love that it took you so long to find out.’”

The couple married in November 2012 and have a son named Ace, who was born in December 2013. Kelly also has a young son from a previous marriage, Cohen, 4.

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3. Saunders Was Disappointed by the Lack of Star Power at the Latest Arnold Palmer Invitational

Saunders participates in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club every year. Although the tournament is part of the PGA our, this 2016 tournament featured few of today’s stars of the sport. In March 2016, Saunders told the Orlando Sentinel that he was “disappointed” that Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelseon and Rickie Flower all sat out of the Invitational this year.

“I know guys make every effort to play. You have all these World Golf Championships and the majors, and I know the money and points are big in those. But it’s bigger than money and points. It’s about paying respect to the history of the game,” Saunders said. “The truth, this week is not about any one of those guys. It’s about Arnold Palmer and what he’s done for this game.”

Saunders’ parents, Amy and Roy, run the Bay Hill Club, which Palmer owned.

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4. Saunders & His Siblings Called Palmer ‘Dumpy’ Instead of ‘Grandpa’

In an ESPN profile from March 2016, Saunders revealed that he and his siblings call Palmer “Dumpy,” since that’s what his oldest sister Emily called him when she tried to say “Grampy.”

Initially, Saunders tried his best to distance himself from his grandfather on the golf course. However, as he has found his own success on the course, he has embraced his family ties to the sport and even earned Palmer’s respect.

“Everybody bows down to him,” he told ESPN. “When I did that, from that point on, every conversation I’ve had with him has been a man-to-man conversation. It’s not a granddad-to-grandchild conversation. It’s man-to-man, because I earned his respect.”

Saunders’ father, Roy Saunders, told the New York Times in 2011 that his son is a natural, but they didn’t push golf on him.

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5. He First Qualified for the U.S. Open Without Needing an Exemption in 2011

Saunders’ own golf career got off to a bumpy start. He turned pro in 2006, when he played in one event and skipped his senior year at Clemson. In 2010 and 2011, he received seven sponsor exemptions to take part in PGA Tour events because of his connection to Palmer. It wasn’t until 2011 that he qualified for the U.S. Open on his own.

“Sometimes, I think my name is ‘Arnold Palmer’s grandson,’ and not Sam Saunders, because people don’t really know my real name,” Saunders told the New York Times in June 2011. “But I’ve dealt with that for a long, long time, and I’m O.K. with that.”

Five years after the 2011 U.S. Open though, Saunders is still appearing in PGA Tour events via sponsor’s exemptions. He told ESPN in March 2016 that he doesn’t think other players resent him, but he understands why they might be frustrated.

“I don’t think other players resented me, but it’s frustrating when you’re trying to make a living on the PGA Tour and you’re not getting into tournaments, then you see a player who isn’t a PGA Tour member getting starts,” Saunders said. “It’s not, quote-unquote, fair. But every guy out here has said to me, in one way or another, we would have taken those starts.”

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