Bob Goalby (1929-2022) American Golfer

Bob Goalby (1929-2022) American Golfer, Find a grave Bob Goalby Find a Grave, Bob Goalby, Bob Goalby American golfer dead at 92, Bob Goalby Buried, Gravesite. 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.

Bob Goalby Find a Grave

He was best known for his win of the 1968 Masters Tournament. He served in the United States military during the Korean War and after his service, turned professional in 1952. During his golfing career, he won 11 Tour wins from 1958 to 1971.

His most memorable win came at the 1968 Masters, when a mistake on Roberto De Vicenzo’s card gave him the tournament win. He also played on the United States team in the 1963 Ryder Cup. In 1979, he joined the Senior Tour and won twice. He also contributed key ideas to the formation and structure of that new tour.

After retiring from active golf, he went back home to his native Belleville, Illinois to design several nearby golf courses. He also was a commentator for NBC Sports golf telecasts for fourteen years.

Bob Goalby American Golfer golfer dead at 92

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Bob Goalby Biography

Bob Goalby life and Career

Goalby was born in Belleville, Illinois on March 14, 1929. 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 and also worked as a caddie at the course. He was an All-State quarterback during his senior year of Belleville West High School and attended the University of Illinois, on a football scholarship only to lose his eligibility due to playing several baseball games for Southern Illinois University, and quit college altogether. He served in the United States military during the Korean War.

Goalby turned professional in 1952 and his first Tour win came in 1958, and 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. 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. DeVicenzo failed to catch the mistake and signed the scorecard. 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. Goalby, playing in the group behind DeVicenzo, was not personally at fault for anything in the incident.

The story received overwhelming attention at the time, and has remained high in public consciousness since. It was recounted in great detail in the 2005 book The Lost Masters: Grace and Disgrace in ’68 by Curt Sampson. 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.

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, 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.

Legacy

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. The football stadium at Belleville High School-West was dedicated to him on October 13, 2017. As of 2018, Goalby resided in Palm Desert, California and was inducted of the St. Louis Sports Hall Of Fame, the Belleville Walk of Fame, and Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.

Bob Goalby Family and Death

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

Bob Goalby (1929-2022) American Golfer