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Bob Goalby

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Bob Goalby
Personal information
Full nameRobert George Goalby
Born(1929-03-14)March 14, 1929
Belleville, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJanuary 19, 2022(2022-01-19) (aged 92)
Belleville, Illinois, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight195 lb (88 kg; 13.9 st)
Sporting nationality United States
Career
CollegeUniversity of Illinois
Turned professional1957
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins14
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour11
PGA Tour Champions2
Other1
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentWon: 1968
PGA Championship2nd: 1962
U.S. OpenT2: 1961
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Robert George Goalby (March 14, 1929 – January 19, 2022) was an American professional golfer. He won the Masters Tournament in 1968, after Roberto De Vicenzo notably made an error on his scorecard. It was Goalby's lone major championship among 11 Tour wins achieved between 1958 and 1971.[1]

Early life

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Goalby was born in Belleville, Illinois on March 14, 1929.[2] There he was raised, and lived for much of his life. He was the son of a coal miner, the family had little money and he would sneak over the fence of nearby St Clair Country Club to indulge his love for golf[1] and also worked as a caddie at the course.[3] He excelled in athletics during his time at Belleville Township High School earning 11 varsity letters.[4] Notably, he was a catcher and pitcher on the Illinois High School Association(IHSA) championship Baseball Team his junior year and an All-State quarterback during his senior year of High School and attended the University of Illinois, on a football scholarship[5][6] only to lose his eligibility due to playing several baseball games for Southern Illinois University, and quit college altogether.[7] He served in the United States military during the Korean War.[1]

Career

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Goalby turned professional in 1957 with his first Tour win coming in 1958, he earned the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Award in that season. He won and contended steadily until 1971, when he was 42 years old. At the 1968 Masters, Goalby tied Roberto De Vicenzo at the end of 72 holes of regulation play, and would have had to face an 18-hole playoff the next day, had there not been a mistake on DeVicenzo's scorecard.[8] In the final round, DeVicenzo's playing partner Tommy Aaron marked a par-4 on the 17th hole, when DeVicenzo had in fact made a birdie-3.[8] DeVicenzo failed to catch the mistake and signed the scorecard.[8] The rules of golf state that the higher written score signed by a golfer on his card must stand and as such, the error gave Goalby the championship.[8] Goalby, playing in the group behind DeVicenzo, was not personally at fault for anything in the incident.[9] The story received overwhelming attention at the time, and has remained high in public consciousness since.[8] It was recounted in great detail in the 2005 book The Lost Masters: Grace and Disgrace in '68 by Curt Sampson.[10] The personal relationship between Goalby and DeVicenzo was unaffected by the difficult situation, and the two players formed a partnership years later, for a team event on the Champions Tour.[11]

Goalby played on the Ryder Cup team in 1963 and retired from the PGA Tour after winning 11 tournaments. He joined the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour) in 1979, winning twice, and contributed key ideas to the formation and structure of that new Tour,[6] before retiring to a home in his native Belleville, where he has designed several nearby golf courses. He also served as a golf commentator for NBC television for 14 years.[8][12]

Legacy

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Goalby lent his name each year since 1982 to a charity golf tournament, the Bob Goalby Golf Open, for the benefit of Maur Hill - Mount Academy, a Catholic, international, college preparatory school in Atchison, Kansas.[13] The football stadium at Belleville High School-West was dedicated to him on October 13, 2017.[5] As of 2018, Goalby resided in Palm Desert, California[8] and was inducted of the St. Louis Sports Hall Of Fame,[2] the Belleville Walk of Fame,[6] and Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.[12]

Personal life

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Goalby had three sons: Kye, Kel and Kevin,[14] the former of whom is a golf course architect.[6] Goalby's nephew Jay Haas is a 9-time PGA Tour winner,[1] and another nephew, Jerry Haas, coaches the Wake Forest University golf team.[15] His great-nephew, Bill Haas, plays on the PGA Tour, and won the Tour Championship tournament and FedEx Cup in 2011.[16] Goalby died in Belleville on January 19, 2022, at the age of 92.[17][11][18]

Professional wins (14)

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PGA Tour wins (11)

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Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (10)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 Apr 13, 1958 Greater Greensboro Open −9 (71-69-69-66=275) 2 strokes United States Dow Finsterwald, United States Don January,
United States Tony Lema, United States Sam Snead,
United States Art Wall Jr.
2 Dec 11, 1960 Coral Gables Open Invitational −12 (67-67-71-67=272) 1 stroke United States Dow Finsterwald
3 Jan 9, 1961 Los Angeles Open −9 (67-70-71-67=275) 3 strokes Scotland Eric Brown, United States Art Wall Jr.
4 Mar 19, 1961 St. Petersburg Open Invitational −23 (67-62-67-65=261) 3 strokes United States Ted Kroll
5 Aug 5, 1962 Insurance City Open Invitational −13 (69-69-66-67=271) Playoff United States Art Wall Jr.
6 Sep 9, 1962 Denver Open Invitational −3 (72-69-67-69=277) 1 stroke United States George Bayer, United States Bob Duden,
United States Jack Fleck, United States Bill Johnston,
United States Billy Maxwell, United States Art Wall Jr.
7 Jan 15, 1967 San Diego Open Invitational −15 (68-64-68-69=269) 1 stroke United States Gay Brewer
8 Apr 14, 1968 Masters Tournament −11 (70-70-71-66=277) 1 stroke Argentina Roberto De Vicenzo
9 Sep 28, 1969 Robinson Open Golf Classic −15 (62-71-73-67=273) Playoff United States Jim Wiechers
10 Nov 29, 1970 Heritage Golf Classic −4 (74-70-70-66=280) 4 strokes United States Lanny Wadkins
11 Dec 12, 1971 Bahamas National Open −9 (69-70-66-70=275) 1 stroke United States George Archer

PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1962 Insurance City Open Invitational United States Art Wall Jr. Won with birdie on seventh extra hole
2 1965 Hawaiian Open United States Gay Brewer Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3 1969 Robinson Open Golf Classic United States Jim Wiechers Won with birdie on first extra hole

Source:[19]

Senior PGA Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 Jun 28, 1981 Marlboro Classic −2 (70-68-70=208) 2 strokes United States Art Wall Jr.
2 Jun 27, 1982 Peter Jackson Champions −15 (68-68-64-73=273) 1 stroke United States Gene Littler

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1985 Bank One Senior Golf Classic United States Miller Barber, United States Gene Littler Littler won with par on third extra hole
Goalby eliminated by par on first hole

Source:[19]

Other senior wins (1)

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Major championships

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Wins (1)

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Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1968 Masters Tournament 1 shot deficit −11 (70-70-71-66=277) 1 stroke Argentina Roberto De Vicenzo

Results timeline

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Tournament 1957 1958 1959
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT T38
PGA Championship T5
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament CUT 36 T25 CUT T37 T39 T59 CUT 1 T40
U.S. Open T19 T2 T14 CUT CUT T22 T6 T39
PGA Championship T32 T15 2 T17 CUT T68 T49 T7 T8 CUT
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament CUT T36 T17 T6 T22 CUT CUT CUT 52 CUT
U.S. Open T36 T19 T58 CUT T63
PGA Championship CUT T46 T62 T18
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986
Masters Tournament CUT CUT 46 CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open
PGA Championship

Note: Goalby never played in The Open Championship.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Source:[21]

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 1 0 0 1 2 5 27 13
U.S. Open 0 1 0 1 2 6 15 11
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PGA Championship 0 1 0 2 4 7 15 12
Totals 1 2 0 4 8 18 57 36

Source:[19]

  • Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (1971 PGA – 1974 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1967 U.S. Open – 1968 Masters)

U.S. national team appearances

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Professional

References

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  1. ^ a b c d McCabe, Jim (April 3, 2018). "1968: Goalby's Superb Play Often Overlooked". Masters.com. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Bob Goalby - Golf". St. Louis Sports Hall Of Fame. Retrieved April 7, 2018. Born: March 14, 1929, Belleville, Illinois... Robert George 'Bob' Goalby, who was born in Belleville, Ill...
  3. ^ Ruppert, Jim (October 12, 2016). "100 Years of IHSA Boys Golf: State Finals Have Hosted Many Greats". Illinois High School Association. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  4. ^ O'Neill, Dan (January 20, 2022). "Masters champion, Belleville native Bob Goalby dies at 92". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  5. ^ a b "Belleville West Naming Football Field After Bob Goalby". Belleville, Illinois. CBS St. Louis. August 22, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d "Interview with Bob Goalby". The Missouri Golf Post. January 7, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  7. ^ Dwyre, Bill (April 9, 2008). "Goalby played the big break just right at the '68 Masters". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Bohannan, Larry (April 1, 2018). "Scorecard controversy at 1968 Masters still haunts its champion Bob Goalby". The Desert Sun. Gannett. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  9. ^ Criddle, Dean (April 7, 2010). "The Master speaks: Bob Goalby talks about the tournament, his great-nephew and Tiger Woods". Belleville News-Democrat. Retrieved May 6, 2010. [dead link‍]
  10. ^ Sampson, Curt (June 15, 2010). The Lost Masters: Grace and Disgrace in '68. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4516-0436-8.
  11. ^ a b Ferguson, Doug (January 21, 2022). "Bob Goalby, who won Masters after scorecard flub, dies at 92". Associated Press. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Bob Goalby: inducted 1991". Illinois Golf Hall Of Fame. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  13. ^ "Alumni and Friends: Bob Goalby". Maur Hill-Mount Academy. Archived from the original on August 21, 2010. Retrieved May 6, 2010. The 29th annual Maur Hill-Mount Academy/Bob Goalby Golf Open...
  14. ^ Voellinger, Art (June 11, 2008). "Respect for Dad's role never ends". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  15. ^ "Jerry Haas bio". Wake Forest Sports. Wake Forest University. Retrieved April 7, 2018. Jerry Haas, a former Wake Forest All-American, is in his 21st season as head coach of his alma mater... The nephew of former Masters champion Bob Goalby and the younger brother of current Champions Tour star Jay Haas...
  16. ^ "FedEx Cup: Bill Haas beats Hunter Mahan to $10m prize". BBC Sport. BBC. September 25, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  17. ^ "Bob Goalby passes away at 92". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  18. ^ Goldstein, Richard (January 21, 2022). "Bob Goalby, Masters Champion Thanks to a Gaffe, Dies at 92". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  19. ^ a b c "Bob Goalby – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  20. ^ Sorensen, Mike (August 13, 2001). "20 years of memories". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  21. ^ Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of the Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. Vol. 1. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3360-5.
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