Memorable day: the last step of Arnold Palmer in Oakmont crossed with Bronco Chase d’Oj Simpson

Oakmont, Pennsylvania – Thirty -one years ago, at the US Open in 1994 in Oakmont, Arnold Palmer set up the 18th Fairway, tears in the eyes while he greeted the gallery applauding him. It was the last palmer hole of his last US Open, and the west of Pennsylvania gave his native son beloved the Sendoff of the hero he deserved.

But although practically no one in Oakmont knew it at the time – smartphones are always more than a decade in the future – another event took place at the same time which would dominate national news for the next two years. The stories of Arnold Palmer and Oj Simpson, co-stars in a series of ridiculous advertisements from Hertz, would cross one last time.

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On June 17, 1994 was a badly hot day in Oakmont, and Palmer, under a straw hat, worked on the course from 8:40 am the surrounding galleries, all deputies in Arnie’s army one last time, applauded each of his 81 strokes. He was grouped with John Mahaffey and Rocco Mediaté, who would gain glory 14 years later in another American open, the masterpiece of Torrey Pines 2008 which he lost against Tiger Woods.

It would be the record for the fifth time that Palmer played in an Open US in Oakmont, the same course where a young and jack Jack Nicklaus had broken his heart in the playoffs in 1962. Palmer received a special exemption to play in the tournament, a movement that did not happen more with a few players who groaned that Palmer took a more holding place. (These complaints are persistent to date, but not on players with Palmer’s stature.)

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At the same time as Palmer relaxed, Simpson was at the home of his lawyer Robert Kardashian. (Yes, from reality TV Kardashians.) The ex-wife of Simpson Nicole and a local server, Ronald Goldman, had been brutally murdered in front of Nicole Simpson’s home five days earlier. Oj Simpson had already been questioned by the police, and at some point of the day, Simpson and his lawyers were informed that he would be accused of the murders.

Palmer and Simpson both sank for Hertz in the 1980s, and watching these advertisements today is a strange experience – there is Simpson, at 10 years old murders who would upset an entire country, with a little with Palmer, as clumsy in front of a camera that he was comfortable in front of the galleries:

According to confidants – with, perhaps, a little historical revisionism – Palmer and Simpson were not particularly close. “I think Oj tolerated Arnold,” said a friend Palmer to Ian O’Connor d’Espn in 2016. “Oj had a lot of boastful and arrogance and during the shooting, it was a lot, ‘Arnold, you do this in this way and I will do it in this way.’ ‘When they were together, Arnold made fun of OJ but I don’t think they were social friends, and I don’t remember that they played golf together.

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Palmer closed his open career in the United States with this long 18-year-old walk, and he was not the only one to cry. His slow walk was proof of the devastating effects of time, but his determined stride demonstrated the spirit which had made him a hero for millions and the first modern golf star.

“I guess the most important thing,” he said, sobbing in a towel, “is the fact that it was as good as for me.”

A few hours after Palmer’s painful departure, Los Angeles police announced that Simpson – who had failed to go to the authorities – was now a sought -after fugitive. The place where Simpson was unknown until he called 911 just before 6 p.m. Pacific time, up to the back of a white Ford Bronco led by his friend Al Cowlings. Simpson was finally apprehended towards Midnight Eastern Time, triggering one of the most conflicting and fascinating tests in American history.

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This day ended up being one of the days of the most memorable new crusaders of the 1990s, so much so that an exceptional ESPN 30 for 30 – called, in an appropriate manner, “June 17, 1994” – highlighted extremely variable events. In addition to Palmer and Simpson, the day presented the New York Ticker-Tape parade, a match of the US World Cup, a victory for New York Knicks in match 5 of the NBA final, and the 30th Home Run of the season of Ken Griffey Jr.

Without social media supplying a constant flow of news and updates, many Americans may have missed one, or more of the great moments. But no golf fan missed Arnie’s last step. And around 95 million Americans caught the pursuit of Simpson Bronco. Palmer has changed the trajectory of golf course and the case of Simpsons changed the trajectory of American culture. For a day in June 1994, they shared this unexpected end projector.