By Mark Garrod, PA Sport Golf Correspondent, Augusta

And so it ended at Augusta for Arnold Palmer on Saturday.

After the rain delay and after 10 eagles, 384 birdies, 1,597 pars, 554 bogeys, 68 double bogeys and 15 "others" - best not to go into the details of it all - Palmer's Masters career ended with a two-foot putt for a double bogey.

Because of all the downpours it was not so much Arnie's Army as Arnie's Navy which turned out for the final holes of an association with the Masters which goes back to 1955 and helped to change the face of golf.

Palmer had expected Friday to be his swansong, but after 12 holes he, like 37 other players, were forced to abandon ship because of a violent thunderstorm that flooded the course in minutes.

Further rain this morning kept Palmer and his legion of fans waiting an extra 75 minutes to see the curtain come down.

What would have pleased the 72-year-old legend more than anything was one more birdie over the closing stretch, but the man who became the first to win the Masters with two closing birdies could not do it.

Already 26 over par when he resumed - not that that mattered to anyone in the gallery - he had three pars, two bogeys and then that closing double bogey for a round of 85 and 30 over par total of 174.

Not something he particularly wanted recording, but how many other memories he has left as well.

This is what some of his fellow competitors said at the end of an era:

Tiger Woods: "There will come a point in time where it will be neat to be able to tell my grandkids that I played with the great Arnold Palmer."

Bernhard Langer: "He's a great model for all of us. He made golf what it is now. I look up to him, not only for what he did for golf, but for how he is as a person."

Ben Crenshaw: "It felt really strange not having Jack (Nicklaus) here this week. It really won't be the same without having Arnold."

Fred Couples: "It's sad. It's a loss. Arnold said it's time for him to go, but his score is irrelevant. If he came back next year and I was paired with him for the first two rounds, it wouldn't bother me at all."

Sergio Garcia: "What he's done has been unbelievable. To be able to play so many years and the way he's done it, it's quite impressive. I just hope to be in that position one day."

Seve Ballesteros: "I have the utmost respect for Arnold Palmer. He is a wonderful player and person and he will always be on my mind."