Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-09

~ swinging golfer gent. who
knows his drives, pitches,
chip shots and puts, can whack
his way around any golf course
within hailing distance Of par fig
ures, even though he never before
has seen the layout.
Willie MacFarlane, the Scot from
Oak Ridge. Tuckahoe, N. Y. who won
the National Open Championship back
in 1926 after a play-of with Bobby
Jones, knows his golf so well that with
out even so much as look at the course
of the Kenwood Golf and Country Club
prior to the tournament which ended
yesterday, he stepped out and played
three rounds in four strokes above par
MacFarlane thereby not only picked
up $700 in bona fide American currency.
but he spread-eagled his field. The rest
Of the bunch could have had another ID
holes to play and they never would have
caught the smooth-swinging profess
sional from Westchester County.
To win the first National Capital
Open championship at Kenwood Mac
Farlane played the tough layout in
72-70-72 for total of 2l4. which is
exactly what we picked as the winning
score before the tournament started.
Armour Six Strokes Back.
Six strokes back of him, deadlocked
for second place. were Tommy Armour,
the iovial Scot from Detroit, and Sol
di Buono another Italian American
golfer from the Bonnie Briar Club of
Larchmont, N. Y. both tied at 200.
Ore shot back of this pair came Tom
Kerrigan of Siwanoy, N. Y, who was
winning tournaments when most OF the
youngsters were learning how 70 ca6-
die; Paul Runyan, the Woodworking lit
tie metropolitan P. G.. A. champion, and
Witty Cox of Dyker Beach, Brooklyn,
N. Y, who is known around New York
as 1.-THE common peoples pro" because
his course is a public fee affair.
This trio was deadlocked at 22l, and
split fourth, fifth and sixth money.
while Gene SaraZen showed his stubby
little Italian nose into seventh place.
The next spot went to Frank Cunning
ham, the little sorrel-thatched Burning
Tree assistant pro, who led the field
for the opening round with a card OF
70, took 70 for the second round and
then steadied down to shoot q 70 and
collect eighth money. Cunningham was
the only golfer from the Midatlantic
area to collect a slice OF dough, al
though Ernie Caldwell, the HIlendale
amateur from Baltimore. led the simon
pure brigade with total far outside
the money.
The story Of the winning of the
tournament is compressed into sizzling
last nine holes collected by MacFarlane.
who was Old Man Steadiness himself
over the final stretch, and the bad golf
of Tommy Armour, who, by shooting
new course record of 60 in the second
round, had pulled himself up to within
striking distance Of the leader and then
had picked UP four strokes to become
level with MacFarlane with nine holes
to go.
Frank Cunningham Blows.
At the end of the second round the
layout was like this: NJ. Cunningham
149. MacFarlane had added a TO- to
his ~ Of the first round and was Head
ing, with 142. Eddie Dudley, the West
ern open champion, had shot a II to
ease himself into tie for third place
at LAG with Tommy Armour, who, after
an opening round Of -, shot the works
to score q SO for total Of LAG. Eddie
williams and Paul Runyan were tied
at l4S and Sarazen, Frank Cunning
ham and Di Buono were bracketed at
14o. The tournament lay between
these players.
MacFaflane, who resembles q peda-
gogue and plays with the dehonair
grace Of college kid, went out early In
the afternoon and played the first nine
OF the last round in 81. Five holes be-
hind him came Tommy Armour, putting
like an inspired man and getting out
in 33 strokes to completely erase Mac
Farlane's lead, while Di Buono, almost
unattended by the gallery also almost
caught MacFarlane.
But the tall Willie set too blisterine
a pace over that last nine holes for
Armour and Di Buono to match, while
self right out Of the tournament with
CHASTITY 8 on the par ninth hole,
where he wasted three shots in traps.
MacFarlane picked up three brides
in the first seven holes Of that last nine
and with a on the eighteenth, fin
ished with 35 for 70 and total of
2l4. Tommy Armour, who was kept
informed Of the progress Of events by
a group of friends, knocked his initial
tee, shot out OF bounds at the tenth
and took on this par 3 affair,
where MacFarlane had scored par a
few minutes before.
Twelfth Ends Armour.
That hole won the tournament for
the tall Willie. But the real end of
the Armour hopes came on the long
twelfth, where Tommys No. 3 iron
shot missed carrying the water hazard
in front Of the green by O bare foot
and instead of q putt for and a
probable 4, he carded on the hole.
He added q buzzsrd 6 on the long thir-
teenth and after that, knowing he was
out Of a chance to win first money, he
settled down to a grim struggle for
second place.
A birdie went down at the four
tenth, and he got good As at the If
tenth and sixteenth. But he was
trapped at the short seventeenth and
took a 4, one over par, and came to the
last hole needing q to tie with d
Buono. He put his second shot in a trap
at the edge of the green, and putted the
ball out to within feet of the hole
sinking The putt that meant a split, OF
second and third money. Di Buono had
finished with last-round card Of II a
| few moments before and Tommy had
that putt to split.
That blazing last nine, where he
picked up brides on the twelfth, four
tenth and sixteenth holes, and twice