Roberto De Vicenzo’s birdie became a 4 on his signed scorecard. At the 1968 Masters, that single number erased a playoff with Bob Goalby.
De Vicenzo shot the score to tie at Augusta National. Tommy Aaron had recorded a 4 instead of a 3 on the 17th hole, and De Vicenzo signed without catching it. While CBS waited to announce the winner, officials faced a number everyone knew was wrong—and a rule that required it to stand.
This is the story behind the scorer’s table, the blank total box and the meeting in Bobby Jones’s cabin. We follow the Sunday battle that put De Vicenzo and Goalby level on the course, then examine why the signed card left them one stroke apart in the official results. Goalby broke no rule; De Vicenzo lost his chance to settle the championship in an 18-hole Monday playoff.
The aftermath reached beyond that afternoon. Augusta changed its scoring setup, De Vicenzo received the Bob Jones Award, and Aaron encountered another wrong number during his own Masters victory in 1973. The episode closes with the scorecard principle that still matters in stroke play today.