Evening star., 1935-07-01
CAUSES CONCERN
FOR YANKEE PROS
Great Match Performer
Now Must Be Regarded
as Possible Jones.
Ry FRANCIS J. POWERS.

7%HE main item III Interest tU
Americans in the recent Brit
ish open golf championship
L was not that Alfred Perry Of
England won the title, but rather
that w. Lawson Little, the Califor-
nian, finished in a tie for fourth place
with a score of 289 Little'S per-
formance at Muirfield stamped him
as coming medal play star and
gave our star professionals something
to worry over for the next year and
some years to come.
A few days before the British open
group of professionals were dis
cussing the event in the locker room
Of the Medinah Country Club of
Chicago. Henry Cotton was the ia
vorite of most of the iourneymen
par busters. What about Little?"
some one asked. He's not a medal
player" replied one well-known star
Bears Out Armour.
"YOU mean he's not a great medal
player yet" interrupted Tommy
Armour, who taught Little the finer
points Of iron play and started him
on his way to winning three national
amateur championships in two Sum-
mers. Little is by all odds the great
est match player among the anna
teurs today. and he may develop into
a great medalist. He has length and
he has accuracy. His iron play Is
improving right along and he's good
rutter. The boy may become as much
Of star at medal play as he Is at
match and is likely to win a national
open championship before long"
Little proved the accuracy of Ar
rnours prediction when he played the
four rounds of the British open cham
pionship in one stroke over even As
His 2s9 would have won the United
States open in most instances, but
scoring in British championships has
become much faster than in our do
mestic competition; thereby erasing
the old idea that 1t was more difficult
to score in Great Britain than on
this side.
Littles 80 in the final round at
Muirfeld was great golf and he now
holds the amateur scoring record for
two Of the most famous links in the
old country: Prestwick. where he won
the 1884 British amateur. being the
other to surrender to his powerful
woods and irons.
Jones Worked Up to 1t.
LEW players ever have been able to
win a national open champion
ship without considerable seasoning in
fast medal plav competitions. Bobby
Jones went through three national
opens before he scored his first VIC
tory: Gene Serazen was q bit more
fortunate because victory came to him
in his third bid for the United States
championship. But others like Ar
mour. Mscfarlane. Burke and Dutra
campaigned for many years before
breaking through to victory. Little
has competed in only two opens the
1884 United States championship at
Merton and the British at Muirfield
At Merton he was only off ship
short time before the championship
started and still wabbly from sea legs.
Littles performance at Muirf1eld
vas brilliant and his record of two
amateur championships and fourth
place In the open is one of the best
any American ever has made in Great
Britain. Bobby Jones is the only one
to have done better.
Little will be a great favorite to
win the United States amateur for
the second consecutive year, when the
championship is played at Cleveland
in September If he wins that cham
pionship, his record of holding both
British and United States amateur
titles twice running will be new in
golf But it is Little's progress in
medal play which has the profession
ais worried. Il the big Californian
ever captures the open championship,
he may become the same sort of a
headache to the professionals that
Bobby Jones was over an eight-year
span.