Emotional tribute to four-time champion Arnold Palmer as Masters gets underway

Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were part of an emotional tribute to Arnold Palmer as the 81st Masters got under way on Thursday.

Nicklaus and Player continued their role as honorary starters by each hitting a tee shot on the opening hole, with 77-year-old Nicklaus producing the longest drive by five yards from 81-year-old Player.

Well worth a watch - Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus start #masters2017 and pay emotional tribute to Arnie. https://t.co/h35CneBb0d

— Dave Gurney (@davejgurney) April 6, 2017

That followed moving scenes as Palmer's widow Kit was accompanied to the first tee by Augusta National chairman Billy Payne, who paid tribute to the four-time Masters champion.

Each spectator had been given a commemorative ''Arnie's Army'' badge and Palmer's green jacket was draped over a white lawn chair on the tee.

"Welcome one more time to Arnie's Army," Payne said. "This is a wonderful, but in one respect difficult, day.

Billy Payne, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, with Kathleen "Kit" Gawthrop, wife of Arnlold Palmer, place a green jacket on a chair to honor Arnold Palmer before the first round for the Masters golf tournament

"For the first time in decades someone is obviously missing. The unbearable sadness about that is surpassed only by the level of affection. He was more than the King and it hurts that he is not here today."

It is the first Masters since Palmer's death in September and the first without him since 1954, the year before he played in the tournament 50 straight times.

Palmer had acted as an honorary starter since 2007, although he had been unable to hit a shot last year due to a shoulder problem.

Nicklaus, who had a tear in his eye after pointing to the sky before hitting his drive, wrote on Twitter: "Even though my friend Gary Player and I are a year older and maybe a few yards shorter, this first tee time on Thursday of the Masters never gets old.

"It was wonderful to pause and pay tribute to our dear friend Arnold, and I hope from above he offered us a thumbs-up for finding the fairway.

"It's not important but I must have also found a little extra as I might have nipped Gary. Perhaps I should give Rory McIlroy some credit and thanks for the little driver tweak the other day on the range at The Bear's Club. Best of luck to him and the rest of the field in the 81st Masters."

Emotional scenes as Augusta honours the late Arnold Palmer prior to the first round of #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/bBKlLnXbP1

— Off The Ball Breakfast (@OffTheBallAM) April 6, 2017

Player added: "Arnold was a great stickler for manners and I'll never forget when he sat on the chair last year and they called his name.

"A lot of people don't stand up and Arnold could hardly walk to the first tee, but he stood up like this (lifting himself a few inches up from the chair using the arms), because he had been taught to stand up.

"And he gave a little wave, and that was very touching to me, and I could see him doing it in that chair today. It's funny how things come back to your mind."