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At the 1967 Masters leader Roberto De Vicenzo was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. This newspaper cutting from the time explains the story.

Following the tournament Masters Chairman Bobby Jones wrote to the winner Bob Goalby, and in this short letter put everything right for him.

To Bob Goalby

The privilege of welcoming a new Masters champion to a green coat is something that I have always reserved to myself. I was especially disappointed this year that a virus attack caused it to be impossible for me to make the presentation to you. I am sending you my warm congratulations on my first day back in circulation. Your golf at Augusta was superb in every way. I saw a good bit of it on the television monitor in my bedroom. I was particularly thrilled by those three great putts you holed at thirteen, fourteen and fifteen in the last round and by your exquisite second shot to the fifteenth which was the finest shot I have ever seen played on that hole.

The scorecard mix-up was a tragedy for Roberto,  but it was also one of equal proportions for you. I thought you both handled the situation in the most sportsmanlike and exemplary manner. I know you would have much preferred to go to a playoff, but I ask you always to remember that you won the tournament under the Rules of Golf and by your superlative play. Indeed, I think overall, it was the most beautifully contested tournament I have ever seen. We, at Augusta, will always be proud of you as a Masters champion. I hope that this will prove to be only the beginning of a wonderful year for you. I shall look forward to seeing you next Spring.

With warmest regards

Most sincerely

Bob Jones

Now that is how one golfer should speak to another!

Roberto De Vicenzo recovered to win the 1967 Open Championship a few months later.

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At Musselburgh Golf Club in Scotland today, in 1811, the first recorded women’s golf tournament was played. Up until this point women had played golf recreationally but this event marked the first time that women were acknowledged as competitors in the sport. The tournament was played over 18 holes and the first place winner received a fishing basket and the runner up handkerchiefs from Spain.

So, golf’s a game for elitists?

New Ryder Cup Captain Padraig Harrington today spoke out about the possibility that Rory McIlroy may not be eligible to play in the 2020 match.

“I can only look at his actions. That man loves the Ryder Cup. He’s become a leader in the team room,” said Harrington.

“He gives so much to the Ryder Cup; the Ryder Cup gives so much back to Rory that he can’t get anywhere else.

“He gets the glory, the opportunity to be loved on the golf course. He gets the exuberance, the crowd.

“You don’t get that day in, day out. You don’t get that regularly. His actions are all about the Ryder Cup.

“He will be 100 per cent behind and in that Ryder Cup team, there’s no doubt about it. You just have to know the man behind the scenes.”

Rory, who has played in five Ryder Cups, has committed to only two European Tour events this season outside of the majors and World Golf Championships. The minimum requirement is four. Under the rule set out in January 2017 if a player does not fulfil the requirements of European Tour membership in any season from 2018 onwards he cannot play in the Ryder Cup or be Captainor Vice Captain in future years.

Rory, who now lives in America, made it clear last week that his future lies on the PGA Tour and that he sees the European Tour as a “stepping stone”.

But Harrington assures “He’s as European as they come”.

I played the other day with a teenage golfer just beginning to learn the game and she asked me what etiquette meant in golf. It made me realise that these things are passed down almost as folk lore unless they are formally explained to beginner golfers. So we got the ideas down on paper and here’s what we came up with. It was good to pass something on to the next generation.

It’s about respect – first respect people’s time so that slow play never becomes an issue. Arrive for your tee time and any lessons early so that you have time to warm up and be ready for action. Dress properly for golf. Turn your phone off the entire time you are at the course. Shake hands at the start of the round and wishthe other player good luck, at the end do so again, thanking them for the game. Congratulate good shots and good scores.

On the course be ready to play when it is your turn and only take up to fuve minutes to search for a lost ball. If someone else loses their ball, help look for it. Allow faster groups to play through.

Repair the ground you play on. Fix ball marks, replace divots, rake bunkers properly.

Stand still from the time the other player sets himself until the ball has left the club. Dont walk on the line of a putt or stand so you cast a shadow on the line of putt. On the tee position yourself directly across from the other player. On the green lay the flagstick carefully. Repair all ball marks on the green with a tee. Be careful not to damage the green when removing the flagstick f you prefer to play with it out of the hole.

Always shout fore if your ball has any chance of hitting anyone. If you hear this duck and cover your head.

Play in a courteous and considerate way for fellow competitors by not moving, talking or making unecessary noise while they are playing their shot, Players shouldn’t stand close to or directly behind the ball or behind the hole on the green. Most of all record your score as you leave the green, properly, without alteration. Trollies shouldn’t be pulle up to the tees or greens, they should be left well to the side. Bags shouldnt be placed on the teeing ground of the green.

Golf has a spirit based on integrity, most of the time on the golf course there is no referee so repsect other players by abiding by the Rules of Golf, know the 2019 version.

That’s what we came up with, and she said it was a relief to know what not to do as like most teenagers she had a fear of being told off and a fear of making mistakes!

Years of uncertainty ended at Wimbledon Park Golf Club recently when 82% of members voted to accept an offer from the All England Lawn Tennis Club to sell the club. The £65 million deal (up from a £25 million offer in 2015) means that as a cooperative each club member will receive £85,000. It’s been a decision which has split the membership for years but now the tennis club will take over the land to build more courts, specifically to bring the qualifying stages of the Wimbledon Championships which are currently held off site in Roehampton.

Phillip Brook, Chairman of the AELTC, said the decision is hugely significant moment for the AELTC and the Championship”. However a Wimbledon Park member said “It’s a very sad day for the history of golf and the employees who will be out of a job through no fault of their own. Money talks”. Television personalities Piers Morgan and Ant and Dec are amongst the members who will benefit from the sale.

18 hole golf at Wimbledon Park will continue until 31 December 2021 and 9 hole golf until 2022.

Three time major winner Padraig Harrington was today confirmed as the European Ryder Cup Captain for the match at Whistling Straits, Wisconsin, USA in 2020.

He is the third Irishman in four matches to take on the role. At a press conference at Wentworth Club he said” I’m thrilled to be named captain. This is something I went into lightly, it isn’t something that I take on without a certain amount of trepidation. It’s something I’ve thought long and hard about. I felt it was the right time for mr to go for it. I want to be a help to the players and to leave the Ryder Cup in a better place”.

The American Ryder Cup Captain is also usually announced in the January the year before the year of the match. Wisconsin native Steve Stricker, who was a Vice Captain to Jim Furyk in 2018 and 2017 President’s Cup Captain is favourite for the job, although Phil Mickelson and David Duval are also in the running.