Roberto De Vicenzo (14 April 1923 – 1 June 2017) was a

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

from

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. He won a record 229 professional tournaments worldwide during his career, including seven on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

and most famously the 1967 Open Championship. He is perhaps best remembered for signing an incorrect scorecard that kept him out of a playoff for the 1968 Masters Tournament.

Biography

De Vicenzo was born on 14 April 1923 in

Villa Ballester Villa Ballester is a city located in the northern Greater Buenos Aires urban area and it is part of the General San Martín Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is served by the Línea Mitre commuter railway with its station also nam ...

, a northern suburb of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was raised in the Villa Pueyrredón neighborhood of Buenos Aires, and acquired the game of golf as a caddie. He developed his skills at the Ranelagh Golf Club, and later relocated to the town of the same name. De Vicenzo won his first Argentine tournament, the

Abierto del Litoral The Coast Open, or Abierto del Litoral, is a golf tournament played in Argentina. Founded in 1932 as the Torneo de Profesionales (Professional Tournament), a name only used for the first two editions, it has always been played at the Rosario Gol ...

, in 1942; his first

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

in 1953; and a major tournament,

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

, in 1967. De Vicenzo is best remembered for his misfortune in the 1968 Masters Tournament. On the par-4 17th hole, Roberto De Vicenzo made a

birdie Birdy or Birdie may refer to: Places in the United States * Birdie, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Birdie, Mississippi, an unincorporated community People with the name * Birdie Blye (1871–1935), American pianist * Birdy (singer) ...

, but playing partner

Tommy Aaron Thomas Dean Aaron (born February 22, 1937) is an American former professional golfer who was a member of the PGA Tour during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Aaron is best known for winning the 1973 Masters Tournament. He is also known for an erro ...

inadvertently entered a 4 instead of 3 on the scorecard. He did not check the scorecard for the error before signing it, and according to the Rules of Golf the higher score had to stand and be counted. If not for this mistake, De Vicenzo would have tied for first place with

Bob Goalby Robert George Goalby (March 14, 1929 – January 19, 2022) was an American professional golfer. He won the Masters Tournament in 1968 Masters Tournament, 1968, after Roberto De Vicenzo notably made an error on his scorecard. It was Goalby's lon ...

, and the two would have met in an 18-hole playoff the next day. His quote afterwards became legendary for its poignancy: "What a stupid I am!" In 1970 he was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. De Vicenzo subsequently found great success in the early days of the Senior PGA Tour, winning the

Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf The Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar is a golf tournament in Missouri on the PGA Tour Champions. Since 2014, it has been played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the 18- ...

two times and the inaugural

U.S. Senior Open The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the Eu ...

in 1980. He also won the 1974

PGA Seniors' Championship The Senior PGA Championship, established in 1937, is the oldest of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both PGA ...

, and represented Argentina 15 times in the Canada Cup/World Cup, leading Argentina to victory in 1953. De Vicenzo was inducted into the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...

in 1989, and officially retired on 12 November 2006, at age 83 with over 200 international victories. The Museum of Golf in Argentina in Berazategui was founded because of his hard work. It was named in his honor upon its completion in 2006. De Vicenzo died 1 June 2017 at the age of 94.

Professional wins (229)

PGA Tour wins (7)

European circuit wins (9)

*1948 (1)

North British-Harrogate Tournament The North British-Harrogate Tournament was a professional golf tournament played in Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Ri ...

*1950 (3) Dutch Open, Belgian Open,

Open de France The Open de France is a European Tour golf tournament. Inaugurated in 1906 it is the oldest national open in Continental Europe and has been part of the European Tour's schedule since the tour's inception in 1972. The 100th edition of the event ...

*1960 (1)

*1964 (2)

, German Open *1966 (1)

Spanish Open Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

*1967 (1)

Argentine Tour wins (132)

''this list is incomplete'' *1942 (1)

*1943 (2)

Center Open The Center Open, or Abierto del Centro, is one of the major regional open golf tournaments in Argentina. Founded in 1927, it has always been held at the Córdoba Golf Club in Córdoba. In 2001, Ángel Cabrera set the course record of 60 in the fi ...

, Westinhouse Grand Prix *1944 (3)

Argentine PGA Championship The Argentine PGA Championship is a golf tournament played in Argentina since 1920. It was generally supported by the leading Argentine golfers and its list of champions includes Eduardo Romero (8 times), José Jurado (7 times), Vicente Fernández ...

Argentine Open The Argentine Open or Abierto de la República or Abierto de Argentina is one of the oldest national golf open championships. First played in 1905, when it was called the Open Championship of the River Plate, it has featured numerous notable winn ...

, Cirio Grand Prix *1945 (3)

, Cirio Grand Prix, Bahía Blanca Open *1946 (5) Palermo Grand Prix,

South Open The South Open, or Abierto del Sur, is one of the major regional open golf tournaments in Argentina, and is also one of the oldest, having been inaugurated 1918. It has always been held at the Mar del Plata Golf Club in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aire ...

, La Plata Open, Masllorens Grand Prix *1947 (10)

, Cirio Grand Prix, Ranelagh Open, Masllorens Grand Prix, Alvear Grand Prix, San Isidro Open, Mailly Grand Prix, America Cup *1948 (5)

, Cirio Grand Prix, Masllorens Grand Prix, Ranelagh Open, La Plata Open *1949 (6)

, Ituzaingo Grand Prix, Masllorens Grand Prix, San Isidro Open *1950 (4) Masllorens Grand Prix, Ituzaingo Grand Prix, San Isidro Open, San Martin Grand Prix *1951 (5)

, Msllorens Grand Prix, Alvear Grand Prix, San Isidro Open *1952 (2)

, San Isidro Open *1953 (1) Argentino Grand Prix *1954 (2) Alvear Grand Prix, San Martin Grand Prix *1958 (1)

*1960 (3)

, Charles of the Ritz Grand Prix, Siam Grand Prix *1961 (1) Ranelagh Open *1962 (6)

Argentine Masters The Argentine Masters or Torneo de Maestros was one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in Argentina, despite not having been played continuously since the inaugural event in 1961. It was always held at the Olivos Golf Club near Buenos Aires. ...

North Open The North Open, or Abierto del Norte, was one of the major regional golf tournaments in Argentina. First held in 1962, it was always held at the Jockey Club, in Tucumán, the hometown of golfers César Monasterio and Andrés Romero. Eduardo Romer ...

, Branca Grand Prix, Suixtill Grand Prix *1963 (2) Branca Grand Prix, Tortugas Grand Prix *1964 (4)

, Minerva Grand Prix, Jockey Club Rosario Open *1965 (6)

, Rio Cuarto Open,

Acantilados Grand Prix The Acantilados Grand Prix or Gran Premio Los Acantilados was a golf tournament on the PGA of Argentina Tour, formerly the principal professional golf tour in Argentina. Founded in 1954, it was always been held at the Club de Golf Los Acantilados i ...

, Jockey Club Rosario Open *1966 (4)

, Ranser Grand Prix *1967 (6)

, Ranelagh Open, Ranser Grand Prix, Pindapoy Grand Prix *1968 (4)

, Ranelagh Open,

, Peugeot Grand Prix *1969 (6)

Norpatagonico Open The Norpatagonico Open, or Abierto Norpatagónico, is one of the major professional golf tournaments in Argentina. Founded in 1969, it has always been held at the Palihue Golf Club in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires (), offi ...

, Ranelagh Open, Glustora Grand Prix,

Lomas Open The Lomas Open was a golf tournament on the PGA of Argentina Tour, formerly the principal professional golf tour in Argentina. The tournament has been played only ten times, the first in 1964, it has always been held at the Lomas Athletic Golf Club ...

, Kanmar Grand Prix *1970 (4)

, Ranelagh Open, Old Smuggler Grand Prix *1971 (5)

, La Cumbre Open,

Pinamar Open The Pinamar Open, or the Abierto de Pinamar, is a golf tournament on the TPG Tour, the official professional golf tour in Argentina. First held in 1970, it has always been held at the Links Pinamar Golf Club, in Pinamar Pinamar is an Argentine coas ...

, Santa Teresita Open *1972 (5)

, Ranelagh Open,

*1973 (4)

*1974 (8)

, San Martin Grand Prix, Charles of the Ritz Grand Prix, Los Lagartos Grand Prix *1975 (2) Jockey Club Rosario Open, Charles of the Ritz Grand Prix *1976 (2) Velox Grand Prix,

Metropolitano Open The Metropolitan Championship, or Campeonato Metropolitano, was a professional golf tournament on the PGA of Argentina Tour, formerly the principal professional golf tour in Argentina. First held in 1955, it has always been held at the Palermo Golf ...

*1977 (3)

, South Open, Velox Grand Prix *1978 South Open, San Martin Grand Prix, Sidesa Grand Prix *1979 (3)

, Sidesa Grand Prix *1983 (1)

*1985 (1)

Latin America/Caribbean wins (60)

''this list may be incomplete'' *1946 Chile Open (tie with

Enrique Bertolino Enrique Bertolino (3 November 1912 – 1997) is an Argentine professional golfer. Bertolino turned professional in 1932, and competed in Europe in 1939, 1954 and 1956; and on the PGA Tour in 1940, 1947 and 1948. His best finish on the PGA Tour ...

), Viña del Mar Open (Chile) *1947 Cali Open (Colombia) *1948 Uruguay Open *1949 Uruguay Open *1951 Cali Open (Colombia), Bogota Open (Colombia), Barranquilla Open (Colombia), Mexican Open *1952

Panama Open The Panama Open was a golf tournament played from 1938 to 1982, during which time it was won by some of the biggest names in professional golf, including Sam Snead and Arnold Palmer. It was an event on the PGA-sponsored Caribbean Tour between 1 ...

, Santo Domingo Open (Chile) *1953

, Mexican Open, Peru Open *1954

Brazil Open The Brasil Open was a tennis tournament held annually in São Paulo, Brazil. It was part of the ATP Tour 250 series, and was one of the main events in the Brazilian tennis calendar alongside ATP Tour 500 Rio Open. Since 2004, it was a part of t ...

, Peru Open, Barranquilla Open (Colombia) Bogota Open (Colombia) *1955 Mexican Open, PGA of Mexico, Medellin Open (Colombia) *1956

Jamaica Open The Jamaica Open is a golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardize ...

, Barranquilla Open (Colombia), Bogota Open (Colombia), PGA of Mexico *1957

*1958 Peru Open, Medellin Open (Colombia), PGA of Mexico *1959 PGA of Mexico *1960

, Barranquilla Open (Colombia), Bogota Open (Colombia) *1961 Chile Open,

Colombian Open The Colombian Open, or Abierto de Colombia, is a golf tournament on the Colombian Tour and PGA Tour Latinoamérica that was first played in 1945. It has also on occasion been an event on the Tour de las Americas. In 2001, Camilo Villegas Ca ...

, Barranquilla Open (Colombia) *1962 Barranquilla Open (Colombia) *1963

*1964

, Uruguay Open, Bogota Open (Colombia) *1965 Los Lagartos Open *1966 Los Lagartos Open *1968 Los Lagartos Open *1969 PGA of Mexico, Los Lagartos Open *1970 Itanhanga Open (Brazil) *1971

*1972

Caracas Open The Venezuela Open or Abierto de Venezuela is a men's professional golf tournament. It has only been staged intermittently since 1957, 2019 being the 35th edition of the event. Al Geiberger, Art Wall Jr., David Graham, Roberto De Vicenzo and Tony ...

, San Pablo Open (Brazil), Rio Grande Open (Brazil) *1973

*1974

, Raleigh Cup (Mexico) *1978 Santiago Open (Chile) *1979 Santo Tome Open, Oro Negro Open (Venezuela)

Other wins (3)

Senior PGA Tour wins (2)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other senior wins (16)

''this list may be incomplete'' *1974

World Senior Championship The World Senior Championship was a golf match held between the winners of the American PGA Seniors' Championship (now Senior PGA Championship) and the British PGA Seniors Championship. It was held from 1954 to 1978. It was a 36-hole match-play e ...

*1979

(with

Julius Boros Julius Nicholas Boros (March 3, 1920 – May 28, 1994) was an American professional golfer noted for his effortless-looking swing and strong record on difficult golf courses, particularly at the U.S. Open. Early years Born in Fairfield, Connecti ...

) *1983

(with

Rod Funseth James Rodney Funseth (April 3, 1933 – September 9, 1985) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour (now PGA Tour Champions). Amiable and low-key but less than confident, Funseth was one of longest ...

), Doug Sanders Classic *1986 Conmmemorative Pro-Am (Super Senior) *1987

Argentine Senior Open The Argentine Senior Open, or Campeonato Abierto Senior, is a senior men's professional golf tournament held in Argentina that was founded in 1987. The first winner was 63-year-old Roberto De Vicenzo. The most successful player is Horacio Carbonett ...

, Pontevedra Classic (Super Senior), Digital Classic (Super Senior) *1988

- Legendary Division (with Charlie Sifford), Vintage Championship Invitational (Super Senior), Pages Classic (Super Senior) *1989

- Legendary Division (with Charlie Sifford), Vantage Championship (Super Senior) *1991

- Legendary Division (with Charlie Sifford) *1992 Center Senior Argentine Open

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the half-way cut
R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" = tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 14 (1948 Open Championship – 1957 Open Championship) *Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (twice)

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (1)

Team appearances

(representing Argentina): 1953 (winners),

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

, 1962 (individual winner),

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

, 1964,

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

, 1966, 1968, 1969,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

(individual winner),

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, 1973,

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

(representing Mexico): 1956,

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

, 1960,

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:De Vicenzo, Roberto Argentine male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Winners of senior major golf championships World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Argentine people of Italian descent People from San Martín, Buenos Aires Sportspeople from Buenos Aires Province 1923 births 2017 deaths