Aye, well we live in different golf worlds, don't we?
The USGA governs the USA and Mexico, while the R & A is the organization for the rest of the world. No surprise to find we have different common practices I suppose.
To be honest, I took up golf in 1968, and didn't play in any kind of competition until 1975 or so. I presume perforated cards were in use prior to that, but I'm not certain.
There is a book about the 1968 Masters called "
The Lost Masters: Grace and Disgrace in '68". Here's an account of what happened:
Quote:
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After watching Goalby finish, De Vicenzo and Aaron went to the scorers table (there was no tent then), and the "million dollar boner" occurred. Aaron mistakenly recorded a four on 17 instead of a three on Roberto's card. Roberto, not checking carefully, and being rushed to appear in the press room, signed the flawed card. When the error was noticed by Aaron and the scorer, the scene turned into chaos. Finally, Cliff Roberts and Ike Grainger, the chairman of the rules committee, in consultation with Bobby Jones, declared that the rules of golf must be followed and Goalby was crowned the winner.
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Roberto holed out from the fairway on number 1 during that final round, and the gallery sang "Happy Birthday" to him. Then he birdied 2 and 3 to go 4 under for the day. But his 65 got turned into a 66 through carelessness.
Goalby got hate mail and death threats by the hundreds. Roberto received, by his own estimate, close to a million letters and telegraphs of support. He handled it with grace and charm, and won over fans in much the same way Van de Velde did in 1999. He received all kinds of awards for sportsmanship and his contributions to the game, once remarking "This is the third time the writers misspell my name on trophy. Maybe I am not the only stupid".
But he was more than just the answer to a trivia question, and he should be remembered as a major champion, not for a gaffe. More importantly - at least in my opinion - he was a gracious gentleman who accepted what happened with uncommon dignity.
He didn't make the World Golf Hall of Fame because folks felt sorry for him. He earned it with 230 victories around the world over 47 years. He was Gary Player before anyone even thought of golf as a global game.