Evening star., 1933-03-18
HAVE ONLY THREE
MORE BIG EVENTS
Wood, Runyan to Battle
Down Stretch to Decide
Main Money Getter.
BY WALTER r. McCALLUM,

TINE open tournament golf
schedule for the Winter and
i early Spring of 1888 is on
its last legs. Only three big
Journeys remain in the East for
the boys who do their talking with
flying divotS, and there will be no
big event held around Washington
this Spring to make a Roman
holiday for the pros.
The touring professional clans, fresh
from Winter season which turned out
better than expected, are on the way
north pointing toward the three tourna-
ments left and toward that goal of all
professional golfers-the national open
championship to be played in June.
It is too early yet to pick the big
money winner of the 1888 season in the
South and East, for the three coming
tournaments will set the crown on the
heads of either Paul Runyan. the little
big man from New Jersey, or blond
Craig Wood, who halls from the same
State
Wood, winner of the Los Angeles and
San Francisco open Journeys. and
Runyan winner of the Aqua Caliente
and Miami events and co-winner with
Horton Smith of the International
-Four Ball, are virtually bracketed for
the winning positions, leading all their
brother pros by mile. Wood is out
tofa fal Wi, inn Nf
Runyan trails him by only $500, for
Little Poison" has won $4.100. If
either of them wins one of the three
remaining tournaments he will become
the big money winner of the current
season.
THE Charleston open affair, in which
i Al Houghton of Kenwood will be
contestant, is the first of the trio
of events remaining on the schedule.
This tournament will start on March
%. running for three days, and will be
followed by the lucrative North and
South open, to be played March % and
90 at the Carolina resort. Prize money
for the Charleston tourney will be
about S25O0, while that at Pinehurst
is to be about $4,000. If either Runyan
or Wood cop the Pinehurst tourna-
ment the one who wins will be the big
money winner of the year. Then will
come the Cavalier open event, to be
played at Virginia Beach on April l
and 2, for 1,500. and the Winter and
Spring season Of 1888 will be washed up.
Wood and Runyan have played fine
golf this Winter. Between them their
winnings have been fairly heavy. But
their success should point lesson to
young professionals who have an idea
that ,,1a Tournament GOLF &c on
other way of making pleasant living.
It's far from that. Even as fine
player as Horton Smith has had a
tough row to hoe this year And Gene
Sarazen's prize winnings total some
thing less than $1,000.
When such big shots of the game
as Sarazen, Smith and Tommy Armour
cannot pull down expenses on the
Winter tour, what can a less gifted
youngster expect to do? John Revolta
is the only one of the new professional
crop this years who has been able to go
along with the big shots of the game
and win money enough to cover ex-
penses. Yet there are scores of young
professionals who look toward the day
when they may become tournament
golfers, winning big purses and getting
the headlines. It's a tough game, this
business of winning money in profess
sional events, and the money and the
glory go only to the few The pro who
sticks to his job at an established coun-
try club has big edge on the gents
who tour the country seeking purses
Heat leaSt-is sure of his salary and
an income from lessons and sales.
DUT the lad who hopes to break into
- the big time some day in a COM
petitive way is strictly up against
it. Few of them make the grade and
even most of the big shots, like Sarazen.
and Armour, have a club job to tie up
to in lean times With purses as they
are it's a rough road for the boys who
try to make living by winning tour
naments, expect for gents Of the Wood
Runyan type. Expenses are heavy.
Caddy hire isn't the cheapest item and
it costs money to live. The competi-
tion Is keener than it ever has been
and on the whole the tournament
racket is undoubtedly one of the tough
est any youngster ever tackled II he
hopes to make living at it.
The playing professional is big
asset to the game. Men like Armour,
Sarazen, Hagen, Smith, Runyan and
Wood have done more to spread the
gospel of better golf than anything
else. But where they have succeeded
in winning purses there are host OF
lesser lights who couldn't stand the
pace. The tournament game is no spot
for youngster who hopes to get ahead
in golf. He would better stick with
his club and be sure of living.