Evening star., 1932-11-14
YOUNGSTER FIRMLY
ON COMEBACK PATH
Final Round of SO Master
piece of Golf Brains
and Courage.
BY w. r. McCALLUM.


i / after a year of frustra-
ton, Horton Smith, the
tall pine from Missouri, was at
PinehurSt, N. c., today, check for
$500 in his jeans and his face
turned toward further conquests
on Eastern golf courses.
The check was the result Of 81 holes
of the finest golf blase Washington has
seen in many a day, and came chiefly
by a terrific charge the lengthy young
Missourian made over The final 18 holes
of the National Capital open which
came to a triumphant close at the
Kenwood Golf and Country Club late
Yesterday. Literally burning up the
course during that torrid final round,
Horton came with such a rush that he
caught and passed Densmo-e Shute,
the young Ohioan who led at the END
OF the first SO holes and once out IN
front with par 3 at the tenth hole,
Horton stayed there.
THAT devastating last round of SO
/ burned out by Smith not only won
IleWal of the National Capital open, but
it marked Horizons first victory in
major golf tournament since the Fall
of 1881. Not in a year, until yeSter-
day, had the young MiSsourian stuck
his nose out in front of good golf
field, since the accident which b:oke
his arm in California last December
and forced his retirement from the
game.
Horton played the 81 holes of the
tourney in 216 strokes, six shots above
paf, but under the prevailing weather
conditions, those three rounds were the
equivalent of three rounds of par or
better His final round of SO was the
only par-shattering round posted by
any of the 167 competitors in the
tourney, and it came because he played
not only with his clubs, but with his
brain, over the last two holes. Shute,
who drove to Washington from New
York with his wife and month-old baby
in an open car, placed second to Smith,
with 2le. These were the only COM
petitors to break 220.
lat the end of SO holes, Shute had
~ scored 70 and 70 for total of
las. Francis Gallett, co-leader on
The first I8 holes, had taken rs and
had 146 John Kinder, who had tied
with Gallett the first day at II, had
shot up to So and was virtually out Of
a chance to win. But Smith, adding
a steady 70 to his first round of IA, was
two shots back of Shute. Tommy
Armour. with 148, and Phil Perkins,
with 149. were well within striking dis
tance. So were John Golden and Al
Watrous, both with $50.
Armour, paired with Walter Hagen and
Ed Dudley, started at the tail-end OF the
procession. Smith, playing with Per-
kins and Paul Runyan, was IN the mid
die of the field, with Shute holes in
front. Shute played the first 9 holes
in 81, dropping shots to Tony Manero,
who got out in 80 and shots TO Smith,
who led him by shot going TO tne
tenth, with a "a on the hrst 9. AT
this 275-yard short hole, Shute had
cut loose with wild hook which he
thought was out Of bounds. Finally
he found the ball in bounds and got a
good 4 on this par-3 hole. But Smith
seenting victory, walloped spoon shot
to the edge of the green, chipped up
ssoae dead and picked up another shot
with pa 5.
lie could have ADDED another stroke
1 to his lead had he holed a 10
footer for at the eleventh. But
his big spot came at the par-5 eleventh.
Here Shute had bagged a birdie A, and
Smith knew it. Carefully cutting
tee shot down the middle, he knocked
a mashie shot short of the ponds and
then faced a pitch to tricky green.
Here was drama and possible tragedy
Had Horton over-pitched the green II
might have been and erased ms
lead. A 5 would still give him slim
rfr a
Ynashie niblick and hit that ball so true
that it curled around the cup for an
eagle 8, leaving him an easy birdie 4.
The tournament was practically over
after that shot. They played the next
three holes in regulation pars and at
1.-THE sixteenth q great roar from the
gallery hailed bird by Shute. Along
came Smith 20 minutes later, pitching
rs feet past the pin in the punch-boTl.
Carefully he lined up the putt ana the
ball slid slowly over the slippery green
to end in the cup. The tournament was
all over Smith could go over par on
the last two holes and still win, 1or
Shute had finished 8, 5 against a par
of 8, 4, missing 4-footer on the maj
green for q and 217.
TIORTON had bad spot in front OF
i i him, however. for he cut loose with
e wild iron shot at the snort seven
feenth, which might have been far
worse than it was. 1t hit tree ano
Law in long grass far to the left OF the
preen. where the youngster had to roll
the ball up bank and hold 1t on
green sloping away from him. To any
Cne with less golfing brains end ragged
nerves it might have been or worse:
Here Hagen, earlier in the Gay, had
taken four puts. And here most Oh
the bows were three putting as they
tried to get the ball in on that slippery
green. But Horton carefully rolled the
BAN up the bank below the hole end
laid the approach putt dead for :.
The way he played the last hole was
q masterpiece of brains and caution. He
laced out a terrific tee chot, where he
could easily have gotten home with a
mashie. But that green Is tlgntly
trsnned and sudden death If the ball
is hit over. Horton took a spade and
deliberately played the ball for the
fringe in front. From there he chipped
eli