Eduardo Alejandro Romero (17 July 1954 – 13 February 2022) was an Argentine professional golfer. Nicknamed "El Gato" ("The Cat"), he won over 80 professional tournaments around the world, including eight on the European Tour and five on the Champions Tour, with two senior majors; he also won over 50 times in South America and was a member of the Argentine team at the World Cup on 14 occasions.
Early life
Romero was born in Córdoba to a family of modest means.[2]
Professional career
Romero turned professional in 1982. He played extensively in Latin America on the Tour de las Americas and its predecessor the "South American Tour", but his international profile is mainly based on his success on the more prestigious European Tour and in senior golf in the United States and Europe. He reached the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking.[3][4]
He first played on the European Tour in 1985 and was a full member from 1988 to 2005. He had 8 tournament victories and seven top twenty placings on the Order of Merit. In 2002 he became the third oldest winner on the European Tour (behind Des Smyth and Neil Coles) when he won the Scottish Open just three days before his 48th birthday. Romero came fifth on the Order of Merit for 2002. Romero turned fifty in 2004, and just a few days later he finished in a tie for second at his first senior tournament, the Senior British Open. In 2005 he won his first senior title at the European Seniors Tour's Travis Perkins Senior Masters, and he won the Wentworth Senior Masters in both 2005 and 2006. In 2006, he lost in a playoff against Loren Roberts for the Senior British Open Championship and won a playoff against Lonnie Nielsen for the JELD-WEN Tradition for his first Champions Tour win and major. He was the Champions Tour's 2006 Rookie of the Year. He won the U.S. Senior Open, his second major, at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs in 2008.[2]
Romero won more than eighty tournaments in Latin America.[2] He represented Argentina in the World Cup and the Alfred Dunhill Cup numerous times, and he participated in the UBS Cup in 2002 and 2003. He also appeared on The Golf Channel's The Big Break series.
1987 Sierra de la Ventana Tournament (Arg), South American team (Arg), Prince of Wales Open (Chile), Santo Domingo Open (Chile), Sports Frances Open (Chile)
