One last bow. One last bogey. One last goodbye. After 50 years, Arnold Palmer (Stats | Bio) swears it's over this time, whether we want it to be or not. The man who made the Masters hitched his pants up and competed for the last time in a major championship.

"I'm through," Palmer said. "I've had it. I'm done, cooked, washed up, finished - whatever you want to say."

We'd like to say "Don't go!" but you get the idea that's no longer an option. When Palmer said he was done two years ago, he didn't really mean it. He was pressured on an apparent scouting mission to weed out old codgers who might have been cluttering up the field.

But Arnie never cluttered up anything, so he came back and kept playing.

"That farewell was more created by other people than me," he said of the 2002 false finish. "I never really felt that that was the end. I was more obliging than I was giving up.

"The fact is, one of the things I wanted to do was what I did today, and that was finish 50 years at Augusta."

Arnie did it his own, inimitable way. There's never been another like him, and there likely never will be again. Palmer walked Augusta's fairways with his eyes on the crowds as much as on the course. He waved and hugged and kissed and spoke to friends from the first tee through Amen Corner to the 18th green.

Thursday was mostly gray and damp, reflective of the mood surrounding the death of Tom Watson (Stats | Bio) 's longtime caddie Bruce Edwards. Friday was bright and sunny, like the man who happily chopped it around and soaked in the love of the fans who made him the King.

"What's overwhelming is to see their reception - their loyalty and admiration for him," said Amy Saunders, Palmer's daughter, who followed him around Augusta National for the first and final time.

The galleries stood and cheered and laughed with him through all 84 meaningful strokes. His Army, which was created here in 1958 from the soldiers at Fort Gordon, saluted him with choruses of "Thank you, Mr. Palmer."

"With Palmer and Augusta, it's more than the galleries that Tiger Woods (Stats | Bio) and Freddie Couples and the other guys have," said Bob Estes (Stats | Bio) , who played with Palmer this week. "It's like a 50-year marriage. There's more commitment, and there's more love."

Even Jack Nicklaus (Stats | Bio) paid tribute on the course, doffing his hat from the 16th green while Palmer walked down the adjacent No. 6.

Fifty years ago, Palmer played his first Masters round with Ed Furgol and shot 76. On Friday, he played with Estes and amateur Nathan Smith (Stats | Bio) , who both fell respectfully behind to let Palmer walk alone off the first tee, over Hogan's Bridge, along the 16th hole pond and up the 18th fairway.

"Sometimes you want to say let's throw the clubs down and let me just walk along with him," said Smith, the U.S. Mid-Amateur champion.

Most of us were lucky to do just that and have been lucky for many of the past 50 years. Palmer invited us along for the greatest ride in golf, and we could never get enough.

Truthfully, we haven't yet.

"It wouldn't hurt if he came back for another 10 years," said Augusta native Charles Howell.

Nicklaus said after his round Friday that it might have been his last, though he certainly owes the Masters a proper goodbye.

As for Arnie, Jack isn't so sure.

"Will this be his last one?" Nicklaus said. "I wouldn't bet on it."

Palmer retired from the British Open twice - five years apart. We've watched his final Bay Hill Invitational three straight years.

But this time it seemed sincere. He asked his entire family to be there to share it with him. He hugged his fiancée, Kit Gawthrop, in the middle of the 14th fairway crosswalk. He hugged his granddaughters, who call him "Dumpy" when he spotted them on the fairway ropes.

"It's certainly bittersweet," Saunders said. "I'm very happy for Dad ... it has been such a part of his life."

And a part of ours. Palmer will be back. He's already seriously thinking about serving as an honorary starter next year. The smart money says he'll accept.

Why? Because we love Arnie. And more importantly, Arnie loves us too much to ever really say goodbye.

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.