PITTSBURGH — Legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, a Western Pennsylvania native, passed away at a Pittsburgh hospital Sunday night at the age of 87.

(Photo of Arnold Palmer. Courtesy of the USGA Archives)

Palmer, a seven-time major champion and three-time USGA Champion passed away at UMPG Presbyterian Hospital according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“We are deeply saddened by the death of Arnold Palmer, golf’s greatest ambassador at age 87,” a statement put out by the USGA said. “Arnold Palmer will always be a champion, in every sense of the word. He inspired generations to love golf by sharing his competitive spirit, displaying sportsmanship, caring for golfers and golf fans and serving as a lifelong ambassador for the sport. Our stories of him not only fill the pages of golf’s history books and the walls of the museum, but also our own personal golf memories. The game is indeed better because of him, and in so many ways, will never be the same.”

Palmer, a native of Latrobe, Pa., won four Masters (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964), two British Opens (1961, 1962) and one U.S> Open (1960) as well as the 1981 U.S. Senior Open. He had a total of 62 PGA Tour Victories and was the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year in 1960 and 1962 as well as the Tour’s money winner in 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1963. He was inducted into the world Golf Hall of Fame in 1974 and won the USGA’s Bob Jones Award n 1971. Palmer also won the 1954 U.S. Amateur Championship, which spearheaded his professional career.

The sixth athlete to receive the Congressional Gold Medal in 2012, Palmer joined fellow Western Pennsylvania athlete Roberto Clemente along with Jessie Ownes, Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson and Byron Nelson in receiving the award as athletes (Jack Nicklaus received the award in 2015).

With a charismatic personality, Palmer had many fans, who became known as “Arnie’s Army”.

Palmer made his final appearance as a golfer at the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh in 1994 and his final appearance golfing in the Masters in 2004.