Few people know that Robert de Vicenzo has the most number of wins of any professional in the history of the game. The Argentine star won no fewer than 215 titles, including the World Cups of 1953 (partnered by Antonio Cerdá), and 1962 and 1970 (individual). However, de Vicenzo was perhaps best known in the world of golf for one monumental error, in the final round of the 1968 US Masters. He had just played one of the finest rounds in the history of the tournament, 31 on the front nine for a total of 65, and it was also his 45th birthday. With that result, he should have been set for a play-off against Bob Goalby the next day. But his joy soon turned to despair: his playing partner, Tommy Aaron, had made a mistake on the Argentinean’s card and marked a four on the 17th when Vicenzo had actually carded a three. Roberto didn’t notice the mistake and signed the card. This result, one shot more, meant he didn’t qualify for the play-off.
How stupid can I be!” he said. Three weeks later, he had the (minor) consolation of triumphing in one of the five tournaments he won in the US, the Houston Open.
In the end, his only Grand Slam victory came in the 1967 British Open, which he almost won on various other occasions, finishing in the top-five nine times.
De Vicenzo was born on 14 April 1923 in Chilavert, in Buenos Aires province. At seven he was already playing a game that became his passion and eventually earned him a living. “I liked it so much,” he recalled later, “that in my house I had a club made from willow and hit anything that was round-shaped.”
He came from a modest family and as a youngster had to lend a hand at home, in charge of preparing meals for his younger siblings. But before then, early, he would plunge into the cold lakes of various golf courses to rescue balls – which earned him tips to help ease his family’s precarious economic situation.
His great ability with a golf club changed his destiny and, as an adult, he became the finest Argentinean golfer of all time, and one of the five top Argentinean sportsmen of the 20th century, according to a vote by the Circle of Sports Journalist, with Diego Maradona, Juan Manuel Fangio, Guillermo Vilas and Carlos Monzón.
De Vicenzo debuted as a professional in 1938, just turned 15, and played the first 36 holes of the Argentine Open – missing the cut. In 1942 he arrived at the Ranelagh Club as assistant to the professional, Armando Rossi; and two years later he won his first tournament, the Litoral Open, in Rosario. His prestige increased astronomically later that year when he won the Westinghouse Grand Prix in the US – his first international title.
But his moment of greatest glory came in 1967 when he won the British Open, the most important tournament in the world, beating such greats as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. He was 44 and by then considered a veteran with few possibilities but he was still rated among the top 10 players in the world, and he showed why by winning the championship. The following year he came unstuck in his “famous Masters”.
De Vicenzo won national Opens in 16 countries, on 42 occasions. In 1974, he was world veterans champion and in 1983 won his last major title, the Merryl Lynch in the US.
In 1968, he received the Richardson Prize as player of the year; in 1969 he was presented with the Bobby Jones Trophy by the US PGA as golfer of the year; and the following season he was named an honorary member of the Royal Golfers Association. He is an honorary member of St. Andrews, the venerable club founded in 1513; and in 1979 was named to the US PGA’s World Hall of Fame.
His favourite definition is the following: “I play and feel communication; the ball seems to throb, rise up the club and reach right to your heart. That’s golf: a shared feeling.”
