Evening star., 1932-01-11
TOPS $500 MEET
/. BY BRILLIANT GOLF.
Pros Skill and Precision
Gets So Round-Driving
Tourney Feature.
BY FRANCIS ]. POWERS.

IL brilliant career Macdonald
Smith of New York never
stroked a golf ball with more skill
and precision than in the current
Los Angeles $500 open cham
pionship that will be concluded
today. Mac Smith, who has won
two of the six previous Los An
geleS championships, was com.
fortably in the lead when the
final 36 holes of play started with
total of 1873 under par for
two skirmishes against the rolling
HillcreZt course.
Smith has added many yards to his
wooden shots-probably through the
medium of the new bail, that is travel
ing tremendous distances under the i'm
pact of siege gunners' wings and salts
lying even the most critical of the pro-
feSSionals. The length of Smiths shots
is best detailed by his play on the 466-
yard eighteenth hole at Hillcrest. On
10th rounds Mac has been well on the
back side of the green with his second
shot and has had little trouble in car
rying any of the longer two-shotters
with his seconds.
Smith Has Round Of 6S.
A year ago Smith was missing many
green's in the Pacific Coast tournament,
but this Winter his approaches with
every sort of club are riding dead to
the line. Amy possible errors in his
play here are the errors of putting that
are to be found in every golfers play.
After whiting himself 50 to open
the championship on Saturday, Smith
round, and his play on the first nine
vas the fastest golf this sector has
seen In many moons. Opening with q
pair OF Us, Mac was out in 33, and when
he started home in q, 3, 8, the galleries
expected to see Hillcrest taken apart.
Smith maintained that same pace until
he 3-putted from within IS feet. Smith
might well have complained with his
IS, for on three holes his puts trimmed
the cup and then jumped out.
Ine one complaint the professionals
still have against the new ball is that
it will jump from the cup even more
readily than the balloon ball that was
anathema last year. The Hillcrest
green's on the whole are very sloping
and very fast, and it is difficult to hold
the ball II putting from above the pin.
Walter Hagen is another of the old
tolks who Is playing very fine golf In
this championship. The Haig had a
pair of Ills for his first two rounds and
Is IN his favorite Spot-from which he
can put on laSt-round drive and pass
the earlier leaders. The greatest i'm
proVement In Hagen'S play over last
year is on the green's.
Some Great Driving.
There has been some tremendous
driving in the Los Angeles opsn One
of the best wooden. shots this writer
eVec saw was made during the first
round by John Golden. On the 361-
yard fifteenth hole Golden topped his
orlVe and 1t did not travel more than
oO yards-Wiffy Cox and Ed Dudley
oelng well over 200 yards in front of
nlm. From side line hill lie Golden
put orassie on the green and within
Is feet of the pin
But none of the professionals can
nope TO keep pace with Jimmy Thomp-
Fred Morrison Of Los Angeles. Thonn-
son, the nephew of Jack White. the IA
NOUS British professional, has developed
INTO the longest hitter in American golf.
ana Olln Dutra-no short hitter him.
seH-declared: I'VE just give up on
thompson when it comes to driving"
Morrison played the first rounds with
Hagen and Charlie Seaver and often
was SO yards ahead of the others of
the tees.
The best round played by any of the
amateurs in this tournament was a 10
by A. G. Sato, the Japanese public
1inkc
who was member of the public links
team that won the Harding Cup last
Summer, rapidly is developing to point
where he can compete against our bet
ter amateurs.
A compact little fellow, he hits a long
ball and Is very keen around the greens.
Sato Is managing the tour of the Japa-
nese professionals in this country and
showed up the visitors of Nippon By
qualifying for the final 36 holes of thf
where his countrymen
failed.
Mackenzie Qualities.
Roland Mackenzie, Walker Cup player
Of Washington, D. c., with II yester-
day, was among seven amateurs to
qualify. The leaders:
Macdonald Smith, New York. SO, ss-l37
Dsss Baltsr s,ssg sassn, 6sio4na pstfoit n 10 1i
Jos. Kirkwood, Philadelphia- 70, 7o.ls2.
Olin Dutra, Santa Monica, 72 70-l42.
Leo Diegel. Mexico IL. 71-l42.
Clarence Clark, Bloomfield, N. j.. 10, rs
l43
Ben Hogan, Fort Worth, Tex, II. 72-143.
Dick Metro San Angelo, Tex, u, 7l-l43.
ky Ladoon; Denver. 70 Is-l43 -,
'2-t44.
a.
Archie Hambrick. zanesyile;. "a 7o-lA.
Abe Espinosa. Chicago' 70, 49,
!ohn G9dsn stamfSrd ns sussna oonn r. @
Mortie Dutra, Long Beach, Calf. IA. II
-I45.
Al. Zimmerman, Portland, Ores. 10, 72
-l45.
-l46.
Harry Cooper. Chicago. 73 73-14s.
JOHNNY Farrell, New York, 70. 73-146
Jack Tarrant, Hollywood, Calf, 10, 73-
As
Chet Beer Bakersfield, 73. 73-146
Fred Lamprecht. New Orleans, a. 72-14s
Frank Nunnally, Los Angeles 73, 73-l4s
Al Cameron; Los Angeles. y: 73.l47;
sArt Sato. San Francisco. II, 70-I47.
Ralph Guldahl. Detroit 10, T4-l47