Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-03


British threat to win the
1 American national open golf
championship had dwindled
almost to the vanishing point to-
day as 40 OF the finest golfers of
the world, barring those who did
not show up, picked up or were
disqualified, started out on the
second round of play in what
some folks hailed as the greatest
open championship on record, but
which has turned out so far to be
just a gentle zephyr brushing
over the superheated open spaces
of the West.
Compston. the big British gent who
should have been a modern Bombar-
der Wells. but turned out to be a good
golfer, got his timetables mixed up
and was disqualified by an irate group
OF officials. Henry Cotton the soft
spoken boy whom many thought would
go somewhere in this championship. is
too far back to figure; Abe Mitchell
did just as he did 10 years ago at
SO4biIlOld ny up Ills Dali, CIldT-
lie Whltcombe, the British Ryder Cup
team captain did not play. and the
others are so far back they have no
chance at all as the championship
really gets organized for the drive down
the stretch.
a T the close of today's play 1t is more
"A than likely that only one of the
representatives of Johnny Bull in
h in No -
ifv for the final drive to the wire to-
morrow. and this man is none other
than W. H. Davies. the much-favored
Brlton, whom the American pros pri-
vately think is the best of all the crop
OF the British contestants And con-
teStants is hardly the word to use. for
as q group of such well thought of men
they have been nothing more than a
hop. For example, after Compston had
been disqualified yesterday we watched
such sad spectacles as Mitchell pick
ing up, George Duncan Withdraw
ing after an 81, Aubrey Boomer scoring
away up in the 80s, Percy Allis almost
out of it and Henry Cotton so far back
in the rear he can only see the front
runners with spyglass, and power
full one at that.
And what of these front runners?
There are lot of them who played
yesterday under the same scorching sun
that has shone here for days and
burned up the course. And if you want
a sound bet. lay it that not one of
/ them will be in the first 10 when pay
off time comes tomorrow afternoon
There were Herman Barron, Charlie
Guest, Eddie Williams and Mortie
Dutra, none of whom is known at all
in the East, all leading the procession
at IL. which is just par for this course
They were out in front at the end
of the first round. but then have you
ever seen or heard or read OF an open
championship when some unknown or
set of unknoWnS did not do something
phenomenal?
Back of them came the steady AL
Espincsa of Chicago, all al3ne at To-
EspinoSa, you will recall. is the same
man who tied with Bob Jones for the
championship back in 1929 and lost
by some colossal margin in the play
off. Then came the real stake horses
the men between whom lies the cham
rs as the championship enters its sec
ond phase today. Look over this list
and see what you think? At 10 are
Billy Burke. Macdonald Smith, Henry
Ciuci, Davis, Frank Walsh. At "a
come some of the real horses who
may win. There are Hagen. Bobby
Cruickshsnk, Gene Sarazen and AL
Watrous. and at rs come Tommy Ar
mour, Harry Cooper. Leo Diegel, Jack
FORESTER and Willie Klein: George Won
Elm and Walter KoZak. Horton Smith
far away, put they are outside choices
considering the golf they have been
playing.