WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. -- With the U.S. Open just over two weeks away, all eyes are turning toward Oakmont, the storied golf course that has played host to many opens and many legends.

Arnold Palmer, who resides in Latrobe, played the course for the first time when he was 12, but as of last fall, he stopped playing competitively.

According to him, frustration played a part in the decision.

"I used to walk down No. 1 at Oakmont or Latrobe," said Palmer. "I could hit the ball where I wanted to. All I needed to do was apply myself to the task, and it would go where I wanted it to go. It doesn't do that anymore, and that is tough."

But Palmer said he owes a lot to the game of golf.

"I am so conscious of the nice things that have happened to me all because of golf," said Palmer.

Palmer cited his last U.S. Open, which was at Oakmont in 1994.

"I think about it a lot," said Palmer, who received a standing ovation at the event. "It is not the greatest moment of my life, but it is a moment that I will always remember."

After losing his wife, Winnie, to cancer in 1999, Palmer is happily remarried now to his wife Kit. In January, it will be three years since the two were wed.

"We are just enjoying ourselves," said Palmer. "I built the house for her. She built it. I paid for it."

Recently for the State Dinner for Queen Elizabeth, Palmer was in attendance with his wife. It was his second dinner with the queen.

"I sat at the same table both times, but Kit hadn't been there, so I said, 'We should go,'" said Palmer. "She was thrilled. She enjoyed it. She got to sit next to Peyton Manning, and I got to sit next to Peyton's wife."

Palmer said he still loves the game of golf, but flying is another passion. He owns his own citation jet.

"I still fly, and knock on wood, having my aviation physical this week," Palmer said.

He is also designing and building golf courses. He has done 300 all over the world, including the first in China.

"It does help that my anguish for not being able to play the way I once did, and I can imagine the kind of shot I hit and like to see other people play the golf course we are building," said Palmer.

But he also has an eye on the future and a warning so that the great courses like Oakmont will not have to be altered beyond recognition.

"Slow the golf ball down," said Palmer. "I am saying some of these things for the first time. I do not want there to be a time that players will go to the first tee, and they will give you 12 golf balls and say, 'These are the golf balls you will use in this tournament.'"

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