by John Hamarik

One week after I won the Chile Open in 1981 by beating Johnny Miller by one shot, I traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina to compete in the Argentina Open. I was still in a cloud while I drove up in a cab to the tournament site. Somehow, they must have known that a young kid from the United States had beaten Johnny Miller in the last tournament because there were hundreds of people wanting my autograph when I arrived at the course. I was overwhelmed with all the Argentine people wanting to shake my hand and talk to me. They were wonderful.

I finally made my way to the practice range and got a good look at the Jockey Club golf course, which was one of Buenos Aires’ finest clubs. My first round paring was unbelievable. I was about to tee it up with the greatest player in South America, Vicente Fernandez. When I arrived at the first tee on Thursday, I saw the great one walking towards the tee. I began to get extremely nervous. How would I introduce myself? Maybe something like this. “Excuse me, Mr. Fernandez, my name is John Hamarik, it is a pleasure to meet you!” Just as I was about to say something, Vicente came right up to me, stuck out his hand and said, “John, I am looking forward to playing golf with you, the gallery will be very large and I will do what I can to help you get through these first two days.” I didn’t know what to say. Here is the best player in South America and he knows who I am! I said that I was honored to play golf with him and I would do my best.

We somehow got through the first two rounds. We both shot identical rounds of 70 on Thursday and Friday. I played as well as I could for two days and was in awe of watching Mr. Fernandez create shots that I was unfamiliar with. He was truly a wizard with his irons and short game. So after shooting the exact same scores for two days, we got paired again on Saturday. Saturday's round for Vicente was another solid ball striking day and he shot another 70. I missed a few short putts on the back nine and shot a 72. When the round was over, Vicente asked me to join him for dinner at the club. I was amazed at what a true gentleman and nice guy Vicente was. I eagerly thanked him and said that I was going to spend some time on the putting green and would meet him in the dining room at 7:00.

I arrived promptly at seven and was greeted by Vicente. I sat down and he said, “John, I hope you don’t mind, but I invited someone else to join us for dinner.” I assured Vicente that I was elated to be asked to have dinner with such a great player. He smiled and a minute later his invited guest arrived. Shivers began to run down my spine as I certainly recognized who was approaching the table. As the elderly gentleman approached the table, I stood up to greet him. Vicente smiled and said, “Roberto, I would like you to meet my good friend, John Hamarik.” I was absolutely stunned! I was about to have dinner with Roberto De Vincenzo, without a doubt, one of the greatest players in the history of golf. In fact, I believe he won more golf tournaments worldwide than any other golfer, ever. When the waiter came by to ask what I wanted to order for dinner, I froze. I have no recollection of what I ordered. I was sitting and listening to stories from a Legend. It was a dream come true. And the reason for this incredible experience was because of Vicente Fernandez. I have met many great golfers in my life, but my respect for Mr. Fernandez as a golfer and as a person will forever be etched in my mind.

For all you Senior PGA Tour fans, keep an eye on Vicente, he has had a wonderful career here in the States. I plan to try to get to one of the Senior tournaments this year so I can shake his hand once again and tell him thanks for being such a great mentor and friend.

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