Roberto De Vicenzo
Golfer who was the oldest winner of the Open in 1967
ROBERTO DE VICENZO, the Argentine golfer, who has died aged 94, won the Open championship at Hoylake in 1967; but he was always remembered for the misfortune which the following year cost him the chance to play off for the US Masters.
De Vicenzo won more than 230 tournaments in his career, mainly in South America. At his peak he was regarded as having one of the most rhythmic swings in the game, but his putting could fail under pressure. As his career began to reach its end he had yet to win one of the four major titles.
Although he had finished second at the Open in 1950, and would come third five times, when he arrived at the Royal Liverpool Club in 1967 he was not among the favourites. He was thus able to get good odds when he bet on himself to win.
His confidence was repaid after he shot 67 in the third round to take the lead. The next day he held off the charge of defending champion Jack Nicklaus to claim the Claret Jug. The key moment came at the long 16th. Having teed off right, the balding De Vicenzo drew gasps when he took out a wood, as all between him and the green lay out of bounds. But he judged the stroke to perfection. “It was my greatest shot,” he would say.
At 44, he was the oldest winner of the championship, his final tally being just two shy of Arnold Palmer’s record score for the Open. And his bet made him £7,000 – more than three times his prize money.
The next April he played the final round at Augusta on his 45th birthday. The crowds serenaded him with Happy Birthday and he rose to the occasion, shooting a course record 31 for the front nine. He bogeyed only the final hole for a score of 65. It made him the leader in the clubhouse, with just Bob Goalby to come who could catch him.
Annoyed by his lapse at the last, De Vicenzo rapidly signed for his score without glancing his card. Officials then discovered that his playing partner Tommy Aaron had written a 4 where De Vicenzo had taken 3 at the 17th.
Under the rules of golf, the higher score signed for had to stand and, though his and Goalby’s real tallies were equal, the latter was declared the winner. “What a stupid I am,” quipped De Vincenzo; but he long dwelt on what might have been.
Roberto De Vicenzo was born in Buenos Aires on April 14 1923, the fifth of eight children of a painter and decorator. His mother died in childbirth when he was 12. He had begun to caddy at six, making money by retrieving golf balls from a pond, and turned pro at 15.
During the Second World War, he served in the navy, taking time out to win his first tournament in 1942. He would go on to be voted one of Argentina’s top five sportsmen of the century, alongside Diego Maradona and Juan Manuel Fangio, and the country’s golf museum is named after him.
In 1953, he led Argentina to golf ’s World Cup and in 1980 won the inaugural US Senior Open. His other titles included Dutch and Belgian Opens. He would practise by hitting 400 balls a day and advocated taking one’s time on the course. “If you hurry,” he said, “nothing seems to go right.”
He married, in 1955, Delia Puppo. She and two sons survive him.