1968 Masters Tournament Explained

1968 Masters Tournament
Dates:April 11–14, 1968
Location:Augusta, Georgia
Course:Augusta National Golf Club
Org:Augusta National Golf Club
Tour:PGA Tour
Par:72
Yardage:6980yd[1]
Field:74 players, 52 after cut
Cut:149 (+5)
Winners Share:$20,000
Score:277 (−11)
Previous:1967
Next:1969
Map:USA#USA Georgia
Map Relief:yes
Map Label:Augusta National
Coordinates:33.503°N -82.02°W

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

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 table (there was not a scoring tent in 1968; after DeVicenzo's mistake in 1968, however, a scoring tent was erected directly behind the 18th green for the 1969 tournament). 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

See main article: Augusta National Golf Club.

HoleNameYardsParHoleNameYardsPar
1White Pine<--Tea Olive-->400410Camellia4704
2Woodbine<--Pink Dogwood-->555511Dogwood<--White Dogwood-->4454
3Flowering Peach355412Golden Bell1553
4Palm<--Flowering Crab Apple-->220313Azalea4755
5Magnolia450414Chinese Fir4204
6Juniper190315Firethorn5205
7Pampas365416Redbud1903
8Yellow Jasmine530517Nandina4004
9Carolina Cherry420418Holly4204
Out3,48536In3,49536
Source:[13] Total6,98072
^ Holes 1, 2, 4, and 11 were later renamed.

Field

1. Masters championsGay 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. AmateurVinny 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 teamJack Lewis Jr. (a), Ed Tutwiler (a)
8. Top 24 players and ties from the 1967 Masters TournamentTommy 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. OpenDeane Beman, Gardner Dickinson (11), Bob Goalby (10), Dutch Harrison, Jerry Pittman, Lee Trevino, Tom Weiskopf
10. Top eight players and ties from 1967 PGA ChampionshipFrank Beard, Don Bies, Gene Littler (11), Don Massengale, Dan Sikes
11. Members of the U.S. 1967 Ryder Cup teamJohnny 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 MastersMiller Barber, Charles Coody, Raymond Floyd, Dave Hill, R. H. Sikes, Kermit Zarley
14. Foreign invitationsAl 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

Round summaries

First round

Thursday, April 11, 1968

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 68 −4
T2 69 −3
Roberto De Vicenzo
T7 70 −2
Jerry Pittman
Kermit Zarley
T10 71 −1
Vinny Giles (a)
Don January
Herman Keiser
Hideyo Sugimoto
Lee Trevino
Source:[16] [12]

Second round

Friday, April 12, 1968

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
T1 71-68=139 −5
72-67=139
T3 75-65=140 −4
70-70=140
69-71=140
6 69-72=141 −3
T7 69-73=142 −2
69-73=142
71-71=142
69-73=142
71-71=142
Source:[17] [18] [19]

Third round

Saturday, April 13, 1968

PlacePlayerScoreTo par
1 72-67-71=210 −6
T2 75-65-71=211 −5
71-71-69=211
69-73-69=211
70-70-71=211
71-68-72=211
T7 75-69-68=212 −4
69-73-70=212
71-72-69=212
T10 69-72-72=213 −3
70-73-70=213
Source:[20]

Final round

Sunday, April 14, 1968

Final leaderboard

Champion
Silver Cup winner (low amateur)
(a) = amateur
(c) = past champion
Top 10!Place!!Player!!Score!!To par!!Money (US$)
1 70-70-71-66=277 −11 20,000
2 69-73-70-66=278 −10 15,000
3 71-71-72-65=279 −9 10,000
4 69-73-69-69=280 −8 7,500
T5 75-65-71-70=281 −7 5,500
Jack Nicklaus (c) 69-71-74-67=281
T7 69-72-72-69=282 −6 3,460
71-71-69-71=282
72-71-71-68=282
70-73-70-69=282
Gary Player (c) 72-67-71-72=282

Sources:[21] [22]

Scorecard

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

EagleBirdieBogeyDouble bogey

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Stain mars Goalby's jacket . Toledo Blade . (Ohio). Associated Press . April 15, 1968 . 19.
  2. Golf's craziest drama . Sports Illustrated . Wright . Alfred . April 22, 1968 . 14.
  3. News: Goalby's 277 captures Masters as scoring error costs De Vicenzo tie . Youngstown Vindicator . (Ohio) . Associated Press . Green . Bob . April 15, 1968 . 15.
  4. Web site: 1968: De Vicenzo signs for wrong score, Goalby wins Masters.
  5. News: Lee Trevino to skip Masters . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press . April 17, 1969 . 20 .
  6. News: Have Trevino, Masters parted company for good? . Tuscaloosa News . (Alabama). Addie . Bob . (Washington Post) . April 11, 1973 . 10.
  7. News: Trevino, Masters still not compatible . St. Petersburg Times . (Florida). Mizell . Hubert . April 8, 1978 . 1C .
  8. News: Trevino to miss Masters . Free Lance-Star . (Fredericksburg, Virginia) . Associated Press . Green . Bob . March 24, 1977 . 8 .
  9. News: 'Worst ever here' – Arnie . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Associated Press . April 13, 1968 . 12.
  10. News: Player, January tie in Masters; Arnie out . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Gundelfinger . Phil . April 13, 1968 . 12.
  11. News: Harmon holds pair of aces . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Associated Press . April 12, 1968 .
  12. News: (Masters scores) . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Associated Press . April 12, 1968 . 22.
  13. News: Augusta National Golf club: map . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Associated Press . April 10, 1969 . 27.
  14. News: Amateur Title Won by Dickson . Youngstown Vindicator . September 3, 1967 . D1.
  15. News: Amateur Title . Youngstown Vindicator . September 3, 1967 . D1.
  16. News: Bill Casper conquers jitters for 68 to lead international Masters field . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington) . Associated Press . April 12, 1968 . 18.
  17. News: Masters scoreboard . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . April 13, 1968 . 13.
  18. News: Birdies push Don January, Player to lead in Masters . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington) . Associated Press . April 13, 1968 . 10.
  19. News: Golf: Masters . Miami News . April 13, 1968 . 2B.
  20. News: Mob pursues Gary Player . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington) . Associated Press . April 14, 1968 . 1, sports.
  21. Web site: Masters – Past Winners & Results . Augusta National Inc. . April 20, 2021.
  22. Web site: Past results – Masters tournament . PGA Tour . April 20, 2021.

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