Sam Saunders, grandson of Arnold Palmer, retires after 15-year pro career

After a 15-year career in professional golf, Sam Saunders is pursuing new adventures.

Saunders, 37, took to Instagram to announce his retirement from professional golf after the Korn Ferry Tour's Magnit Championship, the last event before the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

"I started this career over 15 years ago, and today was my last professional round. I didn’t want to post anything or make a big to do of it, but I have too many people I want to thank, and acknowledge what a treat it has been," Saunders wrote on Instagram. "It was never easy for me, and I never reached my playing goals, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I have made so many friends, and created relationships that will last forever. I am excited for the next chapter of my life, and I will always be involved in this great game of golf that has given me so much."

Saunders has made 158 career PGA TOUR starts, in addition to 163 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour. The grandson of Arnold Palmer, Saunders recorded three runner-up finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour, in addition to a runner-up at the TOUR's 2015 Puerto Rico Open.

Saunders, who played collegiately at Clemson, earned his first TOUR card via the 2014 Korn Ferry Tour Finals, after playing three full seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour. He played full-time on the PGA TOUR from 2015 to 2019, and he has spent the past five years mostly on the Korn Ferry Tour. The native of Orlando, Florida, finished No. 160 on this year's Korn Ferry Tour Points List; the top 156 qualified for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

Saunders has remained closely involved with the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, a PGA TOUR Signature Event contested at Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida. Saunders also delivered an eloquent eulogy at Palmer's memorial service in fall 2016, which was attended by several members of the PGA TOUR family, and he was inside the ropes as Palmer's caddie for the 62-time TOUR winner's final competitive appearances on TOUR at the 2004 Arnold Palmer Invitational and Masters. (The image of Palmer and Saunders beaming as they walked up the 18th fairway during that second round at Bay Hill, after Palmer laced a hard-cutting driver off the deck to roughly 20 feet, is etched in feel-good golf history.)

Saunders now resides in Colorado and traveled the Korn Ferry Tour this season in an RV. "Pro golfer in a van," wrote his Instgram bio. Long known for his adventurous spirit, Saunders earned back his TOUR card via the 2015 Korn Ferry Tour Finals just a few weeks after falling off a hoverboard and suffering a brain bleed. He broke his leg in a 2021 skiing accident, worked back to full strength and finished runner-up at the Korn Ferry Tour's Panama Championship a year ago, falling to Pierceson Coody in a playoff that included two grandsons of Masters champions.

It's a resilient spirit of which his grandpa was proud, and he'll carry that ethos into the next chapter of his journey. Saunders and his wife Kelly have two sons, Cohen and Ace, and the longtime pro looks forward to a more stable home life after professional golf. Still, he'll depart with a lifetime of memories.

"Thank you to my wife, for always being my biggest supporter, cheering me through the good times, and helping me see the bigger picture of life through the really bad times!" Saunders wrote on Instagram. "You and our boys give me the ultimate purpose in life. This may be the end of this chapter but I think the best is yet to come.. Thank you to everyone that has shown me so much kindness and support, I would not have made it this long without you. All my best.. Sam."