George Archer – the 1969 Masters winner who had an amazing secret | Ewan Murray

Archer could barely read and write and his wife, Donna, who will be at Augusta this week, founded a charity that has raised almost $1m

There are unremarkable Masters winners. At the opposite end of the scale is George Archer, a player worthy of the recognition on the 50th anniversary of his triumph that could not be forthcoming when he was alive. Only after his death, in 2005, did an incredible secret emerge to the wider world: Archer forged a career at the top level while illiterate.

“It was a golf thing,” says Donna Archer, George’s widow. “He didn’t want to give his opponents any advantage over him. He knew that if somebody knew about it and said something, that he probably wouldn’t be able to handle it. He would crack.”

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