Walk in the Footsteps of a St. Louis Golf Legend at Far Oaks Golf Club
In 1968, Bob Goalby, a Belleville, Iliinois native entered the final round of the Masters trailing by one shot. His 66 on the final day was good enough for a one shot victory over Argentina’s Roberto De Vicenzo. That tournament is forever remembered for De Vicenzo’s error in which he signed for a par on #17, but had actually made a birdie. Goalby and De Vicenzo would have met in an 18 hole playoff the next day, but Goalby was awarded the Green Jacket that Sunday and the rest is history. Goalby recounted in an interview with the Augusta Chronicle.
I won the year of the controversy. I shot 66 in the final round, but you never heard about that. I made a 4-footer on 18 for par that I thought was to tie. I was walking to the clubhouse when Cary Middlecoff, who was doing television back then, came out of the tower and spotted me. He said, “Hey Bob, you won the tournament. Roberto (de Vicenzo) screwed up his card.”
I walked into the TV room, and Roberto was in there talking, so I had to kneel on the ground. It was just confusing after it ended, but I won, and I was thankful that I did.
All I read about afterward was that I became champion on a scorekeeping error. Well, if Roberto had found the error and fixed it, we would have had a (18-hole) playoff the next day. He wouldn’t have won on Sunday. I think that gets lost in the whole thing. People didn’t want to see past that.
In addition to winning a total of eleven times on the PGA Tour, Goalby also finished second in both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. In the St. Louis area, Goalby is a legend.
Since retiring from competitive golf, Goalby has designed several golf courses including his favorite, Far Oaks Golf Club in Caseyville, IL.
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