His shins had been hurting all week, and during Friday's round, his last in the Masters Tournament, it was no different for Arnold Palmer (Stats | Bio) .

He tried some medicine, and it seemed to help a little. But still the pain pestered him every time he took a step.

Around No. 15, the discomfort vanished. The shins were healed. The pain gone.

"My shins were killing me," Palmer said. "About the 15th hole, it went away. Now there's no pain at all."

He didn't say it, but perhaps he implied it. Arnie's Army, which followed him from hole to hole, was the faith healer. His supporters for the past 50 Masters were the ones who made the pain go away.

Applause - the antidote for his aching shins - washed over him all day, but it was especially potent as Palmer walked up the 18th fairway.

He reminisced about his four Masters victories, and he also remembered the championships he had lost. He thought about his children and grandchildren, all of whom were in attendance for Friday's round.

He smiled and winked at the fans who applauded as if they didn't ever want to let him go.

As he walked to his ball short of the front bunker on No. 18, the gallery - as deep and appreciative as any Masters Sunday gathering - stood and applauded for a minute and 27 seconds. He doffed his cap nine times. After he chipped to within 4 feet, they stood and cheered for 1:03 more.

A bogey on that hole left him at 24-over par for the tournament, but that's not what the 74-year-old legend will remember.

"Use your imagination," Palmer said. "And you will understand that emotion."

Nathan Smith (Stats | Bio) was just as affected by the waves of applause.

Smith, the amateur whose hometown is 80 miles northeast of Palmer's, could have made the cut of 4-over par by parring the 18th. But after he and Bob Estes (Stats | Bio) allowed Palmer to stroll up 18 by himself - a courtesy that should be extended to every legend - he double-bogeyed the hole.

Just like Palmer, he won't be around for today's third round.

"It was pretty overwhelming," Smith said. "All day coming up to the tees and the greens, it was unbelievable. I was trying to stay back and let him enjoy it.

"On 18, it all finally caught up with me."

It caught up with Palmer too.

"Emotion? A lot," he said. "Sometimes, I get tired and emotions overrule. I'm not upset about that. It's a part of me."

Just like he has become a part of Augusta National Golf Club and this tournament. Even old-timers such as Raymond Floyd, who's playing in his 40th Masters, appreciate what Palmer has done and how he affects the fans.

"It's something that's very sentimental to me," Floyd said. "He's meant so much to this game, this tournament and to all others. It's tough to see him go, but we'll all be thinking about him."

He might not be gone quite yet. Although he emphasized many times this week that he'll not play another Masters, he's hinted that he might like to become the tournament's next honorary starter. He's still determined to play an active role at the tournament he helped construct.

Arnie's Army, though, has lost its leader. And the pain isn't likely to go away.

"I can never tell you how important the fans have been to me, and this connection for 50 years," Palmer said. "It's been fantastic."

Reach Josh Katzowitz at (706) 823-3216 or josh.katzowitz@augustachronicle.com.