1968 Masters Tournament

The 1968 Masters Tournament was the 32nd Masters Tournament, held April 11–14 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

1968 Masters Tournament
Tournament information
DatesApril 11–14, 1968
LocationAugusta, Georgia
Course(s)Augusta National Golf Club
Organized byAugusta National Golf Club
Tour(s)PGA Tour
Statistics
Par72
Length6,980 yards (6,383 m)[1]
Field74 players, 52 after cut
Cut149 (+5)
Winner's share$20,000
Champion
Bob Goalby
277 (−11)
Augusta 
Location in the United States

Bob Goalby won his only major championship, one stroke ahead of Roberto De Vicenzo, the reigning British Open champion.[2] On the back nine in the final round, Goalby birdied 13 and 14 and eagled 15 to record a 66 (−6) and a total of 277 (−11).

At first it appeared that he had tied De Vicenzo and the two would meet in an 18-hole Monday playoff, but De Vicenzo returned an incorrect scorecard showing a par 4 on the 17th hole, instead of a birdie 3, sunk with a two-foot putt. Playing partner Tommy Aaron incorrectly marked the 4 and De Vicenzo failed to catch the mistake and signed the scorecard. USGA rules stated that the higher written score signed by a golfer on his card must stand,[3] and the error gave Goalby the championship.[1][2]

Speaking to the press after the error, De Vincenzo said, "What a stupid I am."[4]

Ironically, Goalby discovered a scoring error he had made on the card he was keeping for Raymond Floyd, his playing partner in the final round, which he corrected at the scorer's tent. He had marked Floyd down for a par-3 on the 16th hole, when Floyd had actually bogeyed the hole. Floyd ended up in a tie for seventh place with, among others, Aaron. Both Aaron and Floyd would win the Masters in future years, Aaron in 1973 and Floyd in 1976.

Jack Nicklaus tied for fifth place and third-round leader Gary Player finished tied for seventh. Lee Trevino, 28, made his Masters debut and was two strokes back after three rounds, tied for seventh place. A rough back nine of 43 (+7) pushed his score to 80 and he finished tied for 40th. Two months later, he won the 1968 U.S. Open, the first of his six major titles. The Masters was the only major that eluded him; his best finish was a tie for tenth, in 1975 and 1985. Citing incompatibility, Trevino skipped Augusta three times in the early 1970s,[5][6][7] and missed in 1977 due to a bad back.[8]

In his fourteenth Masters at age 38, four-time champion Arnold Palmer found the water three times during a second round 79 for 151 and missed the cut for the first time at Augusta.[9][10] He made the next seven cuts, through 1975.

Bob Rosburg won the ninth Par 3 contest on Wednesday with a score of 22. Claude Harmon, 51, had consecutive aces at the fourth and fifth holes, but tied for third at 24.[11] The next day, Harmon withdrew in the first round after a nine-hole score of 40.[12]

Course
Main article: Augusta National Golf Club
HoleNameYardsParHoleNameYardsPar
1White Pine400410Camellia4704
2Woodbine555511Dogwood4454
3Flowering Peach355412Golden Bell1553
4Palm220313Azalea4755
5Magnolia450414Chinese Fir4204
6Juniper190315Firethorn5205
7Pampas365416Redbud1903
8Yellow Jasmine530517Nandina4004
9Carolina Cherry420418Holly4204
Out3,48536In3,49536
Source:[1][13]Total6,98072

^ Holes 1, 2, 4, and 11 were later renamed.

Field
1. Masters champions

Gay Brewer (8,11), Jack Burke Jr., Doug Ford, Ralph Guldahl, Claude Harmon, Herman Keiser, Cary Middlecoff, Jack Nicklaus (2,3,4,9,10), Arnold Palmer (8,9,11), Henry Picard, Gary Player (2,8,9), Sam Snead (8), Art Wall Jr. (9)

The following categories only apply to Americans
2. U.S. Open champions (last five years)

Julius Boros (8,10,11), Billy Casper (8,9,11), Ken Venturi (8)

3. The Open champions (last five years)
4. PGA champions (last five years)

Al Geiberger (10,11), Don January (9,10), Dave Marr (8,9), Bobby Nichols (8,11)

5. The first eight finishers in the 1967 U.S. Amateur

Vinny Giles (a), William C. Campbell (7,a), Downing Gray (7,a), Doug Olson (a)[14][15]

6. Previous two U.S. Amateur and Amateur champions
7. Members of the 1967 U.S. Walker Cup team

Jack Lewis, Jr. (a), Ed Tutwiler (a)

  • Don Allen (a) declined his invitation because of the birth of his first child. Jimmy Grant forfeited his exemption by turning professional.
8. Top 24 players and ties from the 1967 Masters Tournament

Tommy Aaron, George Archer, Jacky Cupit, Wes Ellis (9), Paul Harney, Jay Hebert, Lionel Hebert, Bob Rosburg, Mason Rudolph, Doug Sanders (11), Bert Yancey

9. Top 16 players and ties from the 1967 U.S. Open

Deane Beman, Gardner Dickinson (11), Bob Goalby (10), Dutch Harrison, Jerry Pittman, Lee Trevino, Tom Weiskopf

10. Top eight players and ties from 1967 PGA Championship

Frank Beard, Don Bies, Gene Littler (11), Don Massengale, Dan Sikes

11. Members of the U.S. 1967 Ryder Cup team

Johnny Pott

12. One player, either amateur or professional, not already qualified, selected by a ballot of ex-Masters champions.

Tommy Jacobs

13. Leading six players, not already qualified, from a points list based on finishes in PGA Tour events since the previous Masters

Miller Barber, Charles Coody, Ray Floyd, Dave Hill, R. H. Sikes, Kermit Zarley

14. Foreign invitations

Al Balding (9), Peter Butler (8), Joe Carr (a), Bob Charles (3), Chen Ching-Po, Clive Clark, Gary Cowan (6,a), Roberto De Vicenzo (3,8), Bruce Devlin (8), Malcolm Gregson, Harold Henning, Tommy Horton, Tony Jacklin (8), George Knudson, Kel Nagle (9), Hideyo Sugimoto, Raul Travieso

  • Numbers in brackets indicate categories that the player would have qualified under had they been American.

Nationalities in the field
North America (59)South America (2)Europe (6)Oceania (3)Asia (2)Africa (2)
 Canada (3) Argentina (2) England (5) Australia (2) Japan (1) South Africa (2)
 United States (56) Ireland (1) New Zealand (1) Taiwan (1)

Made the cut
PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2R3R4TotalTo parFinish
Jack Nicklaus United States1963, 1965, 196669717467281−7T5
Gary Player South Africa196172677172282−6T7
Art Wall Jr. United States195974747367288ET22
Gay Brewer United States196772747174291+3T35
Sam Snead United States1949, 1952, 195473747571293+542
Doug Ford United States195772757277296+8T48

Missed the cut
PlayerCountryYear(s) wonR1R2TotalTo par
Herman Keiser United States19467179150+6
Arnold Palmer United States1958, 1960,
1962, 1964		7279151+7
Cary Middlecoff United States19557676152+8
Jack Burke, Jr. United States19567974153+9
Ralph Guldahl United States19398281163+19
Henry Picard United States193878WD
Claude Harmon United States1948WD

Source[12][16][17][18]

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, April 11, 1968

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Billy Casper United States68−4
T2Tommy Aaron United States69−3
Roberto De Vicenzo Argentina
Bruce Devlin Australia
Tony Jacklin England
Jack Nicklaus United States
T7Bob Goalby United States70−2
Jerry Pittman United States
Kermit Zarley United States
T10Raymond Floyd United States71−1
Vinny Giles (a) United States
Don January United States
Herman Keiser United States
Hideyo Sugimoto Japan
Lee Trevino United States
Bert Yancey United States

Source:[19]

Second round

Friday, April 12, 1968

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
T1Don January United States71-68=139−5
Gary Player South Africa72-67=139
T3Frank Beard United States75-65=140−4
Bob Goalby United States70-70=140
Jack Nicklaus United States69-71=140
6Tommy Aaron United States69-72=141−3
T7Roberto De Vicenzo Argentina69-73=142−2
Bruce Devlin Australia69-73=142
Raymond Floyd United States71-71=142
Tony Jacklin England69-73=142
Bert Yancey United States71-71=142

Source:[12][17]

Third round

Saturday, April 13, 1968

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo par
1Gary Player South Africa72-67-71=210−6
T2Frank Beard United States75-65-71=211−5
Raymond Floyd United States71-71-69=211
Bruce Devlin Australia69-73-69=211
Bob Goalby United States70-70-71=211
Don January United States71-68-72=211
T7Miller Barber United States75-69-68=212−4
Roberto De Vicenzo Argentina69-73-70=212
Lee Trevino United States71-72-69=212
T10Tommy Aaron United States69-72-72=213−3
Jerry Pittman United States70-73-70=213

Source:[20]

Final round

Sunday, April 14, 1968

PlacePlayerCountryScoreTo parMoney ($)
1Bob Goalby United States70-70-71-66=277−1120,000
2Roberto De Vicenzo Argentina69-73-70-66=278−1015,000
3Bert Yancey United States71-71-72-65=279−910,000
4Bruce Devlin Australia69-73-69-69=280−87,500
T5Frank Beard United States75-65-71-70=281−75,500
Jack Nicklaus United States69-71-74-67=281
T7Tommy Aaron United States69-72-72-69=282−63,460
Raymond Floyd United States71-71-69-71=282
Lionel Hebert United States72-71-71-68=282
Jerry Pittman United States70-73-70-69=282
Gary Player South Africa72-67-71-72=282

Source:[1][3]

Scorecard

Final round

Hole  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18 
Par454343454443545344
Goalby−5−5−5−5−6−7−7−8−8−8−8−8−9−10−12−12−11−11
De Vicenzo−6−7−8−8−8−8−8−9−9−9−9−10−10−10−11−11−11^−10
Yancey−2−3−3−3−3−3−3−4−5−5−5−5−6−6−7−8−9−9
Devlin−6−7−8−8−8−8−8−8−8−8−8−8−8−8−9−8−8−8
Beard−5−5−5−5−5−5−5−3−3−3−4−4−5−5−6−6−6−7
Nicklaus−2−3−3−3−3−3−3−4−4−4−5−4−5−5−6−6−7−7
Floyd−5−5−5−5−5−4−4−5−5−5−4−5−6−6−7−6−6−6
January−5−5−5−5−6−6−6−6−6−6−6−5−4−4−5−5−4−4

^ De Vicenzo actually birdied the 17th hole, but signed for a par on his scorecard.

Cumulative tournament scores, relative to par

Eagle Birdie Bogey Double bogey

References
  1. "Stain mars Goalby's jacket". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. April 15, 1968. p. 19.
  2. Wright, Alfred (April 22, 1968). "Golf's craziest drama". Sports Illustrated. p. 14.
  3. Green, Bob (April 15, 1968). "Goalby's 277 captures Masters as scoring error costs De Vicenzo tie". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. p. 15.
  4. http://www.augusta.com/masters/story/history/1968-de-vicenzo-signs-wrong-score-goalby-wins-masters
  5. "Lee Trevino to skip Masters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 17, 1969. p. 20.
  6. Addie, Bob (April 11, 1973). "Have Trevino, Masters parted company for good?". Tuscaloosa News. (Alabama). (Washington Post). p. 10.
  7. Mizell, Hubert (April 8, 1978). "Trevino, Masters still not compatible". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). p. 1C.
  8. Green, Bob (March 24, 1977). "Trevino to miss Masters". Free Lance-Star. (Fredericksburg, Virginia). Associated Press. p. 8.
  9. "'Worst ever here' – Arnie". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. April 13, 1968. p. 12.
  10. Gundelfinger, Phil (April 13, 1968). "Player, January tie in Masters; Arnie out". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 12.
  11. "Harmon holds pair of aces". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. April 12, 1968.
  12. "(Masters scores)". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. April 12, 1968. p. 22.
  13. "Augusta National Golf club: map". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. April 10, 1969. p. 27.
  14. "Amateur Title Won by Dickson". Youngstown Vindicator. September 3, 1967. p. D1.
  15. "Amateur Title". Youngstown Vindicator. September 3, 1967. p. D1.
  16. "Masters scoreboard". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. April 13, 1968. p. 13.
  17. "Birdies push Don January, Player to lead in Masters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 13, 1968. p. 10.
  18. "Golf: Masters". Miami News. April 13, 1968. p. 2B.
  19. "Bill Casper conquers jitters for 68 to lead international Masters field". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 12, 1968. p. 18.
  20. "Mob pursues Gary Player". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 14, 1968. p. 1, sports.

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