Open champion in 1967, Argentina's Roberto

De Vicenzo dies at 94 

Golf Channel Digital

 

Roberto De Vicenzo, a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and the first Argentine to win a major championship, died today at age 94.
De Vicenzo enjoyed a decorated playing career, one that included more than 230 worldwide victories across five decades. The pinnacle came in 1967, when he won The Open by two shots over Jack Nicklaus at Royal Liverpool.
He also represented Argentina 17 times at the World Cup of Golf and captured the inaugural U.S. Senior Open in 1980 at age 57.

SCORECARD ERROR ROBBED HIM OF 1968 MASTERS

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But De Vicenzo is most well-known for perhaps the biggest gaffe in major championship history. Facing the prospect of an 18-hole play-off with Bob Goalby at the 1968 Masters, De Vicenzo signed for a par on the 17th hole when he, in fact, had made a birdie. The scoring error stood, and Goalby won the tournament by a shot.

"I play golf all over the world for 30 years, and now all I can think of is what a stupid I am to be wrong in this wonderful tournament," De Vicenzo said afterward.
He went on to win the Houston Open a few weeks after his error at Augusta National, the last of his five US PGA Tour victories that began with a win at Colonial in 1957.
Speaking at the Memorial Tournament, Nicklaus recalled that De Vicenzo talked about his Masters gaffe the last time the two spoke a few years ago in Argentina, and it remained a topic of discussion even decades after the fact.
"That was just Roberto," Nicklaus said. "I think he always dwelled on the fact that he screwed up. He had the Masters in his hand."
De Vicenzo received the Bob Jones Award in 1970, the highest honour given by the USGA, and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1989.

 

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