Voice over: Michael Robles
Written: Jay Busbee
Music: Johnny Rock
Matthew Wolff
Roberto De Vicenzo
It was not a great day for Matthew Wolff at Augusta. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
It was not a great day for Matthew Wolff at Augusta. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Matthew Wolff has been disqualified from the 2021 Masters.
As the final players in Friday’s round were finishing up, the tournament headquarters sent out a short release: “Following his second round, Matthew Wolff returned a scorecard with a hole score lower than he actually made on hole 17. He was subsequently disqualified.”
Wolff was already headed out of town; he shot 76 and 79 and was +11, nowhere near the cut line, so this is more ceremonial than anything else. Wolff signed for a 4 on his scorecard when video clearly showed him carding a 5 following a three-inch backhanded tap-in.
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It’s been a difficult year for the 21-year-old Wolff, who abruptly withdrew from the WGC-Workday Championship after shooting a first-round 83. No reason was given. He also withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open with a hand injury following a first-round 78.
The most famous scorecard incident in golf happened at the Masters in 1968. Roberto De Vicenzo and Bob Goalby finished the tournament tied and headed for an 18-hole Monday playoff, as was the rule at the time. However, De Vicenzo’s scorecard incorrectly showed a par 4 — also on the 17th, coincidentally enough — when he actually carded a birdie 3. His playing partner Tommy Aaron had incorrectly marked a 4 and Di Vicenzo didn’t correct the mistake before signing his card. He wasn’t disqualified, but he had to take the higher score, handing Goalby the Masters.
De Vicenzo responded with one of the most heartbreaking lines in all of sports: “What a stupid I am.”
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