Evening star., 1932-11-22
PURSES OUT WEST !.
TOO SLIM TO DRAW
Stars, Pairing Expenses, to
Seek Tournament Gold
Close to Homes.

4 not going to gamble en-
maSse against railroad fares
and hotel bills in great numbers
this Winter.
Word coming through from the
top-liners among the profession
al troupers who have annually
made the big swing to California
and through the Southwest and
South each Winter, indicates that
most of the lads who make their
living by knocking golf balls up
against distant pins are going to
pass up the California tournament
this year.
They will confine their efforts to
scrambling for pick-ups in Florida and
the East. In other words, most of them
have decided that the lure of California
gold does not becken so glowingly this
year.
Instead of total of something more
than 100000 for tournaments this
Winter, the outlook is for not more
than so grand, and the lads who chase
the tournament schedule through the
sun of Winter are thinking plenty
about 1t.
Most of them have decided to stay
In the East, and the result is that
Florida is going to be swamped with
top-notch golf pros looking for minor
jobs while the California tournaments
are to be left to Sarazen, Dutra and the
few who will gamble their chances of
winning against the prospect of going
broke.
Such men as Tommy Armour and Ed
Dudley at Boca Ration, John Farrell at
st. Augustine, Bob Barnett at Indian
Greek. Gene Larkin at Lake Wales and
o few ether pros who have steady Win
ter Jobs are in luck this year. for most
OF the lads viii go to Florida in the
hope of getting a berth, while those jobs
are good jobs as Winter berths go.
AL HoUGToN tells us that Hagen,
"A Farrell, Melhorn, watrous, Per-
kins, Armour, Dudley and most of
the other top notchers, including
Houghton himself, are going to pass up
the tournaments on the West Coast. All
the boys. however, viii gather at Miami
during the coming week end to play in
the $4,000 Miami -Biltmore event, rich
est OF the Winter tournaments.
In the words of one of the top-notch-
ers: we can't afford to miss tourna-
ment worth that amount of dough-"
The Aqua Caliente tournament, worth
$4,000 three years ago, is worth only
$500 this time The event is to be
played January II and II. The boys
stu are squawking about the division
OF money at the San Francisco match
play event last year, and they do not
HOOK upon the coming tournament De-
cember to IL with much favor.
Similarly the other rich tournaments
bn the West Coast have been reduced
p total purse, and the upshot of the
whole matter is that the golfing pros
pectors do not consider the gamble
worth while. They are planning to
chisel a living out of golf in Florida
this Winter, though the pick-ups prom
1se to be small
The days when a rich duffer was
willing to spend a century to be seen
playing with one of, the top-notchers
has gone, and how the boys regret those
good old days of three and four years
ago. Then money flowed like water
and the dream of every caddie was to
become tournament winner. Today
the boys who have steady Winter jobs,
even though the income may be small,
are glad they have 'en1, and are stick
AA&6 w eA&Sh1 an papa O4A tAAS. UoAA.
IN the South, and particularly in
Il Florida which has hung up bulky
purses for 10 years and more, with
Sunshine State" propaganda at the
base of it all, the money schedule for
the pros looks slim.
There was no La Gorce tournament
last Winter, which meant $4,000 cut
right off the schedule, and there is
talk of canceling the $1,000 interna-
tional four-ball at Miami next March.
These are the biggest events of the
year in Florida, but the folks down
Tampa way are talking about revival
of the Gasparilla match play tourney
o $4,000 event which drew all the big
shots of the game last February.
Washington golf followers will be in
terested in the showing made in the
Miami tournament By three fellow
townsmen-Al Houghton. Mel Shorey
and Roland Mackenzie. Shortly before
he left for Florida, Mackenzie an
nounced his decision to turn profess
sional golfer, but so far as we know he
has not done anything beyond making
the announcement If he wins money
prize at Miami and accepts it he will
be a pro, sure enough. The Miami
papers -7l1ich have been chronicling his
ROll Q6eQS SiIICt 1c 1dliNC0 nav
referred to him as an amateur.
XIOUR Uncle Nick Altrock, despite
II his advancing years, still can WELD
a trenchant putter over his home
course at Rock Greek Park. He shot
O 72 yesterday to trounce J. L. (Squir-
rel) Charles in the seni-fnal round
of the consolation in the turkey
tournament under way up there at
Rock Creek, coming from behind and
successfully negotiating a stymie in ex-
pert fashion to save a hole that seemed
lost. Nick was ! down playing the
fourteenth, but he kept playing par
golf. winning the contest by ana l.
On the fifth green Charles ball ialo
Nick's pill an almost dead stymie, but
the cagy Altrock saw curve at tne e
edge of the hole and he played a
carom shot of his opponents ball 10
get a much-needed half. NICK now
q goes to the final round.
E jeff Rhodes lost in the second-mgn'
N final to Eddie Ault on the last hole
N while in the third semi-final Charles
Fcco beat DR.. F. M Christie and vii
& play the winner of the George Marlowe
& VS.. z. M. Bean match in the final. The
Il fourth flight final was won by c. j
N Martineau. who beat c. T. Holley or
III the nineteenth hole.
A. NJ. Grunwell defeated E. A. John
son by and 3 in the third and fourth
Il flights consolation semi-final which
81 finds w. w. Hubbard in the othel
II semi-fnal after a 4-and3 defeat yes.
n terday of Mrs Jack Jester.
ut w LAUDICK, one Of the longes
IL. hitters among the amateurs arounc
Washington and member of Co
81 lumbia, is knocking the ball around hi
& home course in low figures. Laudicl
scored a II over the Columbia layout {
Il couple Of days ago. despite the two tenn
porary greens now in use. Winter rule