Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-05
FEW OPENtE EVENTS
NOW ON GOLF CARD
Money Players Don't Give
Up 10 Per Cent of Prizes
and Clubs BaIk.
BY WALTER R. McCALLUM.

~ OMETHING is happening in
professional golf in so far as
~ the troupers who travel over
the country picking up small
change in tournaments are con-
cerned, and unless things change
for the better, it may be that the
plentitude of small open affairs
which have attracted the star
golfers in past Winters will be cut
way down in number, and all the
boys will have to shoot at will be
the established big tournaments,
such as the Aqua Caliente open,
the Los Angeles open and the La
GORGE open.
This wear the Professional Golfers
Association hired Bob Harlow, VINO
used to fix things up for Walter Hagen,
as manager of its tournament bureau.
Bob is a smooth worker ana q gooo
and one Who always is working for the
best interests of the professionals
Bob went West on tour OF the coast
cities where he was to woik up
number of small open tournaments, and
within a few days after he landed on
the coast a tempest broke around the
matter of a guarantee of 10 per cent OF
the gross at all the tournaments being
turned over to the p. G. A. tournament
bureau.
So far it has resulted In cancellation
Of two fairly big tournaments and 1t
may result in cancellation OF more.
Not HarIow's Fault.
From those In the know it appears
that it isn't Harlow's fault, nor the
fault of the P G. A. Those who know
what it is all about claim the main
onus of the matter lies at the door OF
the men who win the money prizes and
then refuse to turn over 10 per cent OF
their purses to the tournament bureau
Of the p. G. A. The latter body wants
the sponsors for the tournaments 10
turn over 10 per cent of the gross be-
fore the tournaments start, thereby
making sure of the cut for the tourna-
rnent bureau. But the sponsors have
refused to do this and have put the
matter Of collecting the 10 per cent up
to the P. @. A. to get it from the prize
winners.
This is the rock on which the tourna-
ment situation has split and II the
split goes much farther 1t appears that
the trouping golf professionals will not
have as many juicy plums to shoot at
this Winter as they have had IN the
past three or four seasons.
Last year at Aqua Caliente Gene
Sarazen won first money, totalng $10,-
600. He gave 10 per cent Of his purse
to the tournament bureau, which left
him a net of $4,000. He and some OF
the other money winners in the western
tournaments are said to have "beefed"
considerably about this cut of 10 per
cent of their winnings, and the P. @. A.
asked the tournament sponsors to cut
the pot before the boys started, to avoid
further talk along that line.
Sponsors Sidestep.
This the sponsors refused to do.
Such cut would not reduce the amount
Of money put up. but simply would
make the winners take smaller purses.
The Tournament Bureau Of the
p. @. A. has something to sell. 1t has
the services of the finest professional
golfers in the world and If the boys
refuse to play because they must cut
their purses 10 per cent, it seems to an
outsider that they are cutting on their
own noses.
The trouping professional army this
year In the West is rather slim. Many
Of the top-notchers are missing. Hagen,
Armour, Farrell. Smith and others have
not started West. as they usually do at
this time of year. They may start later,
but it seems they are waiting to see
what happens in the matter Of tourna-
ment cancellations before they start.
The goose that laid the golden eggs
Is not such live bird as 1t used to
be, and If tournament cancellations con-
tinue, only the three big stakes of the
Winter season viii be open for the
troupers.
Aqua Caliente, with a total purse Of
SIS, 900 and first money of $4,000, is
the biggest of them all. It comes in
January and follows by week the
$4,000 Los Angeles open, with FIRST
money Of $500. Then along in March
comes the $4,000 La GORGE open at
Miami, with first money of $1,000.
But what of the San Antonio open,
the Houston open, the Oklahoma open,
the Seattle open, the Catalina open and
the other tournaments with smaller
purses? Some of them have been can
celed because of this 10 per cent cut
demand, and others are waiting to see
what happens.
1t seems that the sooner the profess
Bionals agree to give the p. @. A. their
10 per cent cut the better of they will
be. The Tournament Bureau arranges
their events for them, makes all their
bookings, and on the whole is an in
dispensable organization to the pros.
II they refuse to give their cut they will
md things not so easy as they have
been.
Big open golf tournaments are staged,
after all, largely as an advertising
medium. It pays land how to have
the name Of Squeedunk go out to the
world every day for week because
Johnny Mashie has shot 66 over the
golf course. The sponsors collect and
SO do the professionals. The. great
No. Il - l..