Alone among major professional sports, golf relies on the players themselves to keep a tally of their score, and to sign for their totals at the end of play. Any mistake in the calculations can have dire consequences – up to and including disqualification – and yet there is no facility for a simple error to be rectified once a signature has been applied to a scorecard.
The perils of signing for an incorrect total were demonstrated by the Argentinian golfer Roberto De Vicenzo, on one of the biggest golfing stages of all – the Masters at Augusta in the US – who thereby lost the best chance he ever had of winning it. De Vicenzo, who has died aged 94, experienced his misfortune on the event’s final day in 1968. Having made a birdie at the par-four 17th to put himself in contention with the American Bob Goalby, he finished the round on 65 – seven under par – and waited for Goalby to finish
MORE: Roberto De Vicenzo obituary | Sport | The Guardian
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