Evening star., 1932-10-09
WILL PLAY IN OPEN
EVENTS IN FLORIDA
May Become Associated
With Tommy Armour at
B0Ca Ration Club.
BY WALTER r. McCALLUM.

~
nationally known figure IN
amateur golf and thrice a mem
ber of the teams representing
the United States in international
matches with Britain for the
Walker Cup, is going to become a
professional golfer.
Ten years of competition among the
worlds best amateurs, during which he
has been a prominent figure on scores
of golf courses and in hundreds OF
matches in this country and abroad,
ended last night with announcement
by the 26-year-old Columbia star that
he is going to follow the destinieS of a
professional golfer. Roland plans to
leave Washington in a few weeks for
Florida, where he will become aSSo-
Ciated with one of the professionals
who has a berth in that State for the
Winter. The Columbia youngster plans
to play in some of the open tourna-
ments during the coming Winter. He
may locate with Tommy Armour at
Boca Ration, Fla, one Of the exclusive
golf resorts which dot the State. Boca
Ration is near Palm Beach.
EIRST amateur golfer ever developed
J. in Washington to make a mark il
national golt Roland Mackenzie,
during the years from 1924 through
1927, while still schoolboy at Western
High School and Brown University,
ranked among the first half dozen anna
teur golfers of this country. Although
he never reached the final round in the
amateur championship. he was within
a putt of doing so in 1927 at the
Minikhada Club of Minneapolis, where
Chick Evans defeated him in the semi
final with lengthy putt on the first
extra hole after their 36-hole match
had ended all square. Evans was
beaten in the final the following day
by Bobby Jones. Two years before
Roland won the qualifying round in the
national championship over the haz-
ardous Oakmont Country Club layout |
on the smoky hills near Pittsburgh, |
scoring 71-74-l45. Winner of the
District of Columbia amateur cham
pionship in 1924 and 1925 and the |
Middle Atlantic Golf Association title |
in 1925. Mackenzie played in his first |
national in 1923 at the F'lossmoor Club
near Chicago, where he failed to qualify. |
THE following year the champion.
i ship went to the classic layout of |
the Merton Cricket Club of Phila- !
won his first national. Mackenzie made |
his first mark in the championship. |
Qualifying safely with total of 153. he |
met George Won Elm, then of Cali |
fornia, and rugged golfer. Roland |
was down at the end of the first 1o |
holes against Won Elm, and, dropping |
the opening hole in the afternoon was |
down with II to play-apparently a
hopeless position for an unknown kid |
ioc+ with rpnI1tatjnn |
Every one else had given up hope but |
the youngster. Planting his shots up |
against the pin with unerring precl- |
sion. he won hole after hole coming
strong over the last nine to wipe out
all of Won Elms lead but one going to
the thirty-siAth. Here the Columbia /
youtgster nSaed to win to square the |
match. It 5eemed lost when he half |
topped his tee shot. But there, on the |
edge of as old quarry, he made one of |
the finesG golf shots ever seen in any |
championships spoon shot that car
ried to the green 240 yards away. Won |
Elm put his second shot on the green, |
but 10 shaken were his nerves that he |
three.putted and Roland squared the |
match with a winning 4. That last
hope stand established Roland Mac
Kenzie. even though he lost on the |
thirty-seventh hole when, in trying too |
ndrQ 1Or a Duu lle IIllSSSu IliC Pueo
coming back, enabling Won Elm to win |
with a par 4. After that match the |
moglGs of the United States Golf AS
sociation realized that in Mackenzie |
was a golfer worth watching. 4
THEIR confidence was justified the |
i following year when the youngster |
won the medal at Oakmont, where |
Dick Jones of New York beat him on |
the last hole in their first-round matcn
The following year-l926-Rolano
gained a place on the United StateS
team which travelled to Britain to play |
for the Walker Cup. There, on the |
classic St Andrews course, Roland
gained for himself considerable repu- |
tation as a long hitter. The Scots, |
born and brought up in an atmosphere
of golf. gasped at the way this tall
Young American walloped golf ball
for unbelievable distances. He lost MS
singles match to the blonde E. F. Sto-
rev in that first Walker Cup venture,
but, paired with Bob Gardner, ne won
the foursome match for the United
States that brought a 4-to-3 victory.
Roland holed a 10foot putt on the
final green to win for the United States
and prevent tie.
Two years later Roland again was
named for the Walker Cup team. AT
the Chicago Golf Club, on the team
captained by Bob Jones. he won ms
singles engagement against Capt. U
Noel Martin and paired with watts
Gum to beat J. B. Beck and DR.. "A. r.
McCallrm to aid the United States IN
an 1l-to-1 victory. Roland played as
a member of the 1880 Walker Cup team
at Sandwich, England, winning his
singles against w Camppell and WIN
ming in the fcursome play with Don
Moe as partner. against Sir Ernest
HolGerness and J. A. Stout.
MACKENZIE has played in nine ma
1v1 tional amateur championships
qualifying five times and falling
to qualify four times. Although ne
qualified in the mid-Atlantic section
for the recent title chase at Five Farms,
he was prevented by illness from play
ing in the championship itself. He
qualified at Marion in 1924, at Oakmont
in 1925. at Baltrusol in 1926, at Mini
kahda in 1927 and in 1929 at Pebble
Beach. At the age of II he played In
his first national at F1ossmoor, IN 1923
During the years from 1928 through
1881 Roland worked in one OF the MN
studios in California, where he had
little chance to play golf To his lack
of practice may be attributed his tlllure
10 qualify in 1928. 1880 and 1881.
Since he returned 10 Washington from
California last Spring Roland has play
ed little golf He won the Chevy Chase
tournament last MAY with as impressive
an exhibition Of the game as ] ever
have seen. scoin!g n 10 IN the nnhl
shortly after that he was taken III and
he mas not yet fuzzy recovered. HA
forthcoming trip to Florida u Tor the
purpose Of playing golf and getting out
Ia the warm tun Ia an cnott 20 get
bach his health n hh health permits
he Wiil come bate in Washington tc
plAY in the National Capital Opfn Ai
hsnu nUd un N0Vrmhrf Il and II ana
sti - lsfFf tn Pine nufft and o. the