Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-07
NEARLY $50 SWING
ON KENWOOD LINKS
Many of italian Strain in
Field Setting Out for
$3.50 Prizes.

stand off the attack of the
Scottish, Anglo-Saxon and
Celtic pretenders to the crown of
first National Capital open golf
champion" AS the frost-bitten
early starters left the first tee to-
day in the chill of a November
morning at Kenwood Golf and
Country Club at least one-fifth OF
the field of nearly 1870 stellar golf
erS gathered in Washington to
shoot for the purse of $3.50 put
up by the Kenwood club could
trace their ancestry back a gen.
Grafton or two to a clear blood
strain of the nation whose deS-
TIMES are guided by the dynamic
personality of MuSSolini-Italian
dictator.
For golf, be it known, no longer be-
longs to the races who Graded and
nurtured it along the wind-swept shores
of the British Isles. The warm blooded
Southerners from Italy have swept into
the professional game and are going
so fast that within few years, at the
rate they are going, 1t will be rarity
to find q true Scot among the entry
lists at major championships. The Ma
tional Capital open, which started to-
day at Kenwood Club, is another eX-
ample Of the manner in which these
second and third generation sons of
Italian blood have taken the game OF
golf and made it their own national
game.
Many Potential Champions.
So far stubby little Gene Sarazen is
the only Italian-American who has
won a national championship. But
who is there to say that among the
Ciucis, the Turnesas, the Seraflns, the
Maneros, the Flores, the Mazziotis or
the Mattuccis there shall not come
forth tomorrow, come sundowh, an
American lad with Italian parentage
who will be the first winner of the
National Capital open golf champion
ship?
10 be sure, the entry list in the
tourney today contains plenty OF good
Scottish and Celtic names like Armour,
Forester, Mcleod, O'Hare. Nolan and
O'Connor, but the preponderance OF the
names characteristic Of any one race Is
in favor of the warm-blooded sons of
italy, who have embraced the game
of golf and are going somewhere with It.
They are all good Americans, though,
the Sarazens. Turnesas, Armours,
O'Hares ard O'Connors, and all OF them
have an equal chance to cop on a
share of the prize money today II their
skill is equal to the test of meeting
the golf course and beating it.
The ample-SiZed purse, exceeding III
size the money put up for the national
open championship, has drawn them
all, from all corners of the land, ana
somewhere out of the huddle will come
tomorrow night lad who Will proudly
step up to the pay-oh window ana
draw down the lions share of the purse.
Statistics are dull affairs, but they are
3 quite necessary in the case OF such
mathematical affair as a golf tourna-
ment where hgures-chiehy the fgure
ARE the most priced symbols OF all.
Some Bald Statistics.
Here are the bald statistics on the
first National Capital open tournament,
which started today at KenWood:
The club-Kenwood Golf and Coun-
try Club located about two miles north
of the District line on the River road
Immediately west Of Bethesda, Nd
The entry-Leading professional and
amateur golfers of the East, including
the present British open champion, the
p. q. A.. title holder, the Western open
champion and six former national open
The purse-$2, $50, put up by the Ken
wood Club to be split as follows: First
money, $500; second, $500; third, $500;
fourth, $3.50; fifth, 5000; sixth, $3.50;
seventh, 500; eighth, $50; ninth, $50;
tenth, $40; eleventh, $50.
Admission fee-$1 each day.
Parking facilities-Ample, with room
for at least 500 automobiles on private
property.
with par of 10. The first nine meas
ures 3,342 yards in length and has
a par of "a. The second nine, which
is only a few months old, measures
1924 yards in length, with par Of
36-total 10.
The rules-United States Golf As
ISOLATION rules will govern all play.
with the exceptions that the ball may
be teed in the fairway and the penalty
for ball out of bounds is loss of dis
lance only.
Conditions of play-The entire field
plays 1S holes today, the first go and
ties to continue play at SO holes to-
morrow, with the prize places to be
based on the 54hole total.
MOT the least of the interesting
~ phases of the tourney will be the
battle between at least half
dozen good amateurs for trophies put
up by the club The amateurs are
topped by Billy Howell, the Richmond
youth, who was the sensation of the
last amateur championship in his
march to the semi-final, where he was
stopped by the veteran, Francis Ouimet
They also include Tommy Bones and
Everett Eynon, amateur stars of Co
lumbia; John Lynch of New York,
Howard Tryon of Detroit, Edgar Lucas,
Tom Cole and Ernie Caldwell of Bait
more. Luther Steward and NJ. Parker
Nolan OF Columbia and a few others
who probably will not qualify today
Tor the final day Of play tomorrow.
Another phase of the tourney will
be the attempt of the stars to shatter
the course record Of Sc made only
week ago by Walter w. Cunningham
of Burning Tree. If the weather re-
mains cold and windy it is not prob
able that any of the pros will shatter
the 20 mark. although Tom Creavy, the
p. @. A. title holder, might have &C.
complished that feat yesterday had the
low temperature and the cold wind not
driven him in after he had negotiated
the first nine holes in 80. Tommy
Armour, the British open champ, split
ting the pin from tee to green and
putting like a duffer, was around in
"a on his first gallop over the course
Most Of the others were merely content
to try out their shots and few of them
would relate their scoring efforts.
All the local professionals, practi-
cally without exception. have turned
out for the tournament and one of