Comments on: What a day, what a Masters

By: Tom Corish

Tom Corish — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:48:52 +0000

Thanks, Furman. You write with such ease and brevity. Your description of this classic Masters will be copied and quoted long after we have passed. Keep on keeping on!

By: David Gardner

David Gardner — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 21:41:48 +0000

It was a great tournament. When Cabrera sliced his drive into the woods on the first playoff hole, I thought he was out of it.

By: All I'm Saying Is...

All I'm Saying Is... — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:16:57 +0000

Noel Habib and Jay: Get a clue. You show your ignorance of golf or stupidity (if you know the game and still stand by Noel’s post). You may not agree with the rules of golf but they have been that way for over 130 years. Read and learn:

1) In golf, my playing partner keeps my score and I keep his. However, I also keep my own score hole-by-hole and compare it to what my playing partner has giving me the chance to correct his error. I can compare results after each hole and then again at the end of the round. By signing the scorecard at the end of the round, I am agreeing that what my playing partner has tabulated is right. I don’t have to sign unless we agree so I have the ultimate opportunity to correct any error. This method — based on math not a command of English — has nothing whatsoever to do with ethnicity, race, country of origin, politics, etc. Furthermore, Roberto De Vicenzo never once blamed anyone else and received in 1970 the Bob Jones Award from the USGA for his sportsmanship and classy behavior.

2) Gary Player, a South African and therefore a ‘foreigner’, won his first Masters in 1961 well before Roberto’s opportunity so there was no reason for anyone to conspire to prevent a foreigner from winning.

3) Roberto would have qualified for a playoff if not for the scorecard error. Back in those days, a playoff meant 18 holes the next day. So we cannot assume he would have won the playoff.

I guess Furman Bisher does his best but either he or his editors continually let him file stories with incorrect facts which undermine FBs credibility — Perry didn’t ‘tire’ in the playoff: he choked over the last two holes of his 4th round blowing it with bogey’s at 17 (a terrible approach shot to the green from the middle of the fairway followed by one of the worst chip shots ever) and 18 (a tee shot into the fairway bunker followed by a lousy third shot and missing a 15 foot putt to win) and he choked in the playoff, the Green Jacket was not De Vicenzo’s to give to Goalby as they would have had to play 18 the next day, and De Vicenzo is ultimately responsible for his scorecard so any error is on him and is of his doing.

By: jay

jay — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:34:55 +0000

thank you noel habib know one could have said its better,,,,,

By: noel habib

noel habib — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:16:26 +0000

de Vicenzo was robbed of a playoff appearance against Goalby in “68 by Augusta National officials and Tommy Aaron, both who conspired to stop a foreigner from winning the tournament. Aaron and Masters officials, who had similar, but not exactly the same, reasons to hate the Argentine– one of which was the fact that Argentina had welcomed and hidden some of the most heinous Nazi criminals– both knew that de Vicenzo’s lack of English would make him easy prey for the absurd and archaic formality of players keeping their own score, an outrageous rule that should have been abolished in every golf tournament the first day their was ever an official on the golf course. Do basketball players have to report the final score at the end of the game? And if incorrect, have to forfeit, for example, a SEC game? Aaron gave de Vicenzo a 4 on the 17th, when he had actually scored a game-changing birdie. Isn’t that interesting. Aaron WORSENED de Vicenzo’s score, and at the most critical time of the tourney. Human error? Guess again. Everyone on the planet following golf then, not only knew the score of every player on top of the leaderboard, but would never have forgotten one the biggest moments in the entire day. de Vincezo’s birdie on 17 was absolutely huge. And why was Aaron “taking care” of de Vicenzo’s scorecard? Master’officials probably assured de Vicenzo that “we’ll take care it.” They took care of him alright. Can you imagine if Ben Crenshaw had had a mistake on his card? He would have been gently taken aside and given a few minutes to correct it, and no one would have been the wiser.

By: GT71

GT71 — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:49:51 +0000

Kenny Perry may have ‘tired’, but he did certainly ‘choke’. Big time. But somehow no one wants to say it. And Mr. Campbell, you have a 4 foot putt to keep in the game. You leave it right. That, too, was a ‘choke’. But who can blame them? It’s the Masters and only ‘masters’ should win. These 2 journeymen golfers proved it by wilting under the pressure, siezed by the moment, not seizing it. The winner? Yep, the guy who didn’t lose it. Great day, nice article, so-so tournament.

By: Charles Brannon

Charles Brannon — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:11:56 +0000

I stand corrected. It took a while to find it, but de Vicenzo’s quote was, “I play golf all over the world for 30 years, and now all I can think of is what a stupid I am to be wrong in this wonderful tournament.”

By: wallymac

wallymac — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 01:11:36 +0000

Are you speaking of Tommy Aaron?

By: H1022

H1022 — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:25:58 +0000

This years’ Masters was one of the best ever. I hated to see anyone lose.

I have been racking my old brain all day. Someone please tell me who was the tall golfer from Rome or Gainesville who kept Roberto’s score card? I just can’t remember.

By: dostadawg2

dostadawg2 — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:08:02 +0000

Advice to Masters
Leave Allister McKenzie and Bobby Jone’s masterpiece alone.
Buy an adjacent piece of property and build a stadium course with
bleachers and skyboxes, and sell another 100,000 tickets. Have Ticketmaster and Stub Hubb sell the badges for thousands of dollars each(which they are already doing online; wonder who the “patrons” are contributing these?) Build a couple more of the WalMart souvenier shops (like the one beside No. 1). Suggest over by No. 5 so us ol’ patrons won’t have to fight the crowds to get to the one over by No. 1.
I have been to the Masters for several decades and it has become a circus.
It’s all about the greed and the money.
I now think the Open is the only Major, all the rest are driven by Capitalism.