Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-29
ALL PROS HOPEFUL
WITH EMPEROR OUT
No Amateur Conceded
Chance to Win National
0pen-Armour Prominent.
BY PAUL NICHOLSON.


OLEDO, Ohio, June 2s.-Old
Home week is here at last for
the long-suffering golf profess
SIGNALS. A national open cham
pionship Is on and a certain younf
amateur named Bobby Jones no longeI
haunts their dreams of winning thu
grandest prize Of American golf
Jones threatening shadow has beer
lifted from the field at last and tn
tonic of his retirement from the BIZ
show has seized the imaginstions o
the pros. They all have become free
with new hopes to win the covetee
crown.
To any one who has followed the
national open struggles for the past
decade the change can easily be no
| ticed Instead of the muttered ques-
tion Who's going to beat Bobby" the
question today was Who's going h
Win?" 1t was a wide-open fight and
the long subdued professional iror
WielderS could be seen almost every
wherein the golf course. hotel lob
bies and street corners seriously dis
cussing every pitfall on the champion
ship Inverness layout as If they werc
going to win this time.
Amateurs Not Considered.
Several amateurs we're entered in thu
! I2-hole championship battle, which
opens Thursday and ends Saturday
over the troub!e-infested Inverness
course, but none OF them was granted
even an outside chance. The name OF
Johnny Lehman of Chicago, a lion
hearted youth with q fine game and
/ the nerve 1t takes to win this major
championship, was mentioned briefly,
but no one considered him q serious
| threat. 1t looked like a big romp fol
/ the professionals for once all the way.
| II any one professional was single.
out of the field Of 146 to beat, h. wa
| Tommy Armour Of Detroit, the present
Bobby Jones of the pros" The cham
/ pionship course will be won by the play
er VINO can hit straight tee shots and
! play his irons. and Armour can do thsm
both, especially the latter. After his
triumph in the British open, Armour
came home for a needed rest and sand
wiched in several leisurely drills at In
verness while most Of his principal
rivals fought through the heat and traps
at Scioto in the Ryder Cup matches.
Armour didn't show much at Inverness
during his practices and his caddies
polished UP just the same for the big
show this week
Britishers Strong.
| England as we'll as America will con-
| tribute serious contenders for the va
Gated throne. All 10 Ryder Cup play
els on both teams have entered the
! fray, with Walter Hagen. Gene Sara
fzen, Densmore Shuta, johnny Farrell.
Leo Diegel, Al Espinosa and Billie Burke
! the big contenders from the American
/ team, and Arthur Havers. w H Davies,
ABB Mitchell and Charles Whitcombe
the hopes Of the British team Henry
! Cotton, who was ousted from the Brit
ish team because Of his refusal to trave,
J with his mates, was perhaps their big
gest threat.
The young Briton has been at Inver
| ness for week drilling steadily. Ger
! many had its Percy Allis, France iS
Aubrey Boomer and Auguste Boyer,
W:!ile the Philippines had the diminu-
/ tive Larry Monies, an impressive player
| with a magic putter, to round out the
! international threat, enc which sue
! ceeded last time at Inverness in 1920,
! when Ted Ray of England won the
| title.
Inverness was in excellent condition
| today for the test. rain gave relief
to the slightly baked fairways lasl
night; the rough was high and wiry,
| the fairways were dangerously mar
rev. and the undulating greens. wen
| protected by yawning traps. were in
| excellent condition. Most of the field
| was on the battle-ground for practice
| rounds today, and predictions Of the
winning 72-hole total averaged around
| 295, the one Ray turned in to give
| the local trophy its last trip over the
| Atlantic. iaRak