New Britain herald., 1929-09-07
AMATEUR TITLE
 WILL BE DECIDED
D1. Oscar Willing and Harrison
 Johnston Meet in Finals

'lF'ii IN. JbIllNtOli ol ENJr ] iut-- "Doc' and "Jimmy' 10 the galleries came today to the final 2G-holc round of play on picturesque Pebble Beach to decide which was to eX- pcriencr the thrill of being amateur champion of the United states for the first time.
 Considered so lightly as con tenders that Johnston was ranked sixth and Willing seventh on the national list used for match play seeding" they stood out novcrthe- less as the survivors of tourna- mont notable for it's far western hazards and upscts.
 The fact that in their paths 10 the final round neither DOC" nor Jimmy" was called upon to play the dethroned champion, Bobby Jones. may be a source of disap- pointmcnt to some Of the critics but this much can be said for Johnston-he "bcat the man that beat tho man that beat the man that defeated Bobby Jones'"
 This refrain has grown with the tournaments progress, to musical accompaniment that appealed to the fans ever since Johnny Goodman of Omaha busted Jones in the first round and took the main actor off this slittcring California peninsula.
 Goodman was removed in turn hy William Lawson Little. Jr., of san Francisco, who bowed to Francis Ouimet of Boston in the third round. In the semi-nnaIs yesterday Johnston completed the route 10 the final by handing Ou- met the 1914 champion, a decisive setback, 6 and 5, while pr. Willing was disposing of II. Chandler Egan of Medford, Ore, 1904-05 title holder, f and 3.
 Johnston was the more impressive of the two finalists yesterday but his path to the deciding round. on the whole, has been more difficult than that of Dr. Willing. Jimmy" had to go 19 holes to put our John De paolO of Bakersfield, Cal, in the very first round. After taking
 
 D. C., into camp and in the sec ond round Johnston was carried to the 39th hole before conduering George NOigt of New York. the most terrific fight of the tournament.
 Yesterday. however, Johnston was always the dominating figure in his match with Ouimet. who found more traps during the day than he did in three previous matches.
 Willing's closest match was in the first round. where he beat Danny Sangster, Los Angeles youth. ? and ]. Then he put out two f.nGlishmen in succession-T. A. Bourn by 3 and in the second round and Cyril Tolley, the British champion, by f and 2. in the third round.
 What few dramatic moments there were in the semi-fnals were packed into the outgoing nine of the second round of the Willing match, and they were furnished eX- clusively by the 45-year-old Egan.
 Willing went to lunch eight up, with victory conceded 10 him. He seemed to have the champion of 25 years ago groggy. Egan. however, had a punch left.
 He may have been helped by an osteopathic treatment 10 his weak back, the factor that has kept him out of most nrtional competition for years, but at any rate. he aroused a big gallery 10 a frenzied pitch of eX- citnmcnt with one of the Eamest rallies ever witnessed on any course.
 From being nine down at the goth hOlo. lIGan became only four down at the @7th. He was getting few "hrcaks" at last, but he Was also consistently outplaying the rugged doctor. But for d stymie at the 18th hole and missed putts of five feet rt the 2nth and four feet at the 27th, t,gan might have performed the miracle and been only one down.
 There apparently being some po- 'tic justice in golf. stymios helped I.@an take two holes as he put on his thrilling squirt. The gallery indi- rHtrd some disfavor with Dr. Will iug's consistent refusal to conc"do short putts and appeared only too eagor to chccr Egan's rally
 The old campaigner took the Dist, o2l. 23d and 24th in succession. two of them with hirdios. as he played macniGccntly to the greens. After q half on the 25th, Willing tossed away his chances on the 26th by topping his second shot into the churn that cuts across tho fairWay off tho ocean, Egan clipped skill fully to tho eth. but missed a short putt for win. made tho turn down, and lost some of the fire of his comohack
 He dropped the oath and won the &Iyt when Wiling took two shots in q tran. but the best he could do against the heavy odds was to carry tho issue 10 the 33d green.
 Willing. as well as Johnston. en- f.rcd the finals for the first time. Neither had ever before gone beyond the third round, although they have hccn competitors in a number or tournaments since 1921. JohnSt on has bocn western amateur and Min uesota state champion Willing has twice held the Pacific northwest am at"ur title.
 Roth have proved good medal as well as match players. Johnston has scored well in several open cham pionship. leading the field at Oak mont for 3G holes in 1927. Willing won inc Oregon open Vast yc0r, sink ing a 25-toot putt on the lest green 70 beat Johnny Farrell then th" na'ion"I open king, by single stro5" with a score Of 295.