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Almost 226 years ago in Philadelphia, 40 men signed the Constitution of the United States of America.
The names on the document are a “Who’s Who” of American history — Washington, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton, the Pinckneys from South Carolina.
These guys were the American aristocracy, back when it wasn’t very good to be anyone but a Caucasian Anglo-Saxon protestant land-owner.
Things have clearly changed for the better in the two-and-a-quarter centuries since, so the names that would sign a revised consitution today would be a more diverse set. That set might even include a few golfers.
We pondered what names might be asked to put their ole John Hancock on a new constitution. (Conveniently, Hancock didn’t sign the existing consitution.)
1. Jack Nicklaus — The greatest golfer of all-time (GOAT) would represent the state of Ohio with his signature. Winning 18 majors among his 72 PGA Tour titles, Nicklaus also had 19 other second-place finishes in majors.
2. Tiger Woods — He’s still in the conversation to become the GOAT, but he’s a healthy second to the Golden Bear, hailing from the land of America’s greatest gold rush. Woods is four PGA Tour wins away from sharing the all-time record with Sam Snead, another great American.
3. Arnold Palmer — This Arnold’s no Benedict. In fact, he’s the epitome of all that is America at its best — and from the state of Pennsylvania. Palmer grew up in middle-class Latrobe, working hard to become the most popular golfer of all-time (sorry, Tiger) and has embraced his statesman role. Also, Palmer could replace Hancock, as he always tells his fellow pros to make their autographs as legible as possible.
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