The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-08-05

y --
THE crown for the fourteenth Ma
Il tional Public Links champion
ship nestled on the head of 18-year-
old Frank Strafaci, Brooklyn high
school lad, today, the youngest win
ner in history, who defeated Joe
Coria. 24-year-old st. Paul Mimi
park cop, in the final match of the
1885 tournament at Charles E. Cof-
fin course Saturday. Strafaci won
l up in 81 holes.
The young Italian staged thrill
ing rally Saturday noon to deadlock
the match at the halfway 18-hole
mark after trailing throughout most
of the morning round and being 3
down at the fifteenth tee.
Then in the afternoon, after he
had been aggreSsor throughout, he
was called upon to display all the
courage and determination of a real
champion to ward off a desperate
uphill climb by Coria, who fought
back from being 2 down at the end
of 81 holes to square the match on
the thirty-fourth green.
IT took a six-foot downhill putt,
Il sent curling over the knobs, of
the difficult first green, the ball
hesitating just before it took its
final plunge into the cup for I
birdie, to beat the young Spanish
American from st. Paul.
1t was a match between two
young links stalwarts whose games
are so sound that it is hardly fair
that distinctions of champion and
runnerup' should separate their rat
ings.
1t was the second extra hole
match in the history of the IA ma
tional championships staged by the
United States Golf Association for
the stars who play the fairway
sport on the fee courses.
Back in 1927 when Carl Kauff-
man. Pittsburgh player, began his
three-year reign over the nations
public linksmen he won a 37-hole
match from Carl Serrick of New
York over the Ridgewood course at
Cleveland, o.
UNDOUBTEDLY the young blond
~ from st. Paul was Stroking
those two short puts into an
imaginary cup hundreds of times 10
day as he recounted how he missed
one of 30 inches in length after
Strafaci gave him an opening on
the very first hole Saturday morning
and then how he missed a shorter
one of a foot on the second hole and
even went l down on technically
at the third hole when he scraped
the sand with his club on the back
swing and called the foul on him
self. conceding the hole to Strafaci
He no doubt recalls how he took
three puts to get down from 25
feet away on the ninth green, some
thing he rarely did during the
progress of the tournament.
CTRAFACI also had some bad
- breaks, however: one when his
ball came to rest again a tree on
the fourth hole and he had to bow
to a birdie despite the fact he recov-
cred beautifully and got par; an
other when he hit into the water on
the fifth hole and even the shedding
of his shoes and socks and wading
into the water to hit the ball out
failed to get him par for half and
he went one down. Strafaci can
tell you he took three puts to lose
the seventh hole and a bad break
when his second shot stopped less
than a foot out of bounds on the
eighth cost him the loss Of that
hole.
Two down at the turn the young
ster found himself three down at
the end of 10 holes when Joe tossed
another birdie at him, but he can
shoot brides. too, and he did with a
14-foot putt that banged against the
back edge of the cup, bounched high
into the air and dropped in.
ERANK went three down again
Il when his second on the four
tenth went over the back edge
and he took three to get down. Cora
recovering from trouble with q
great second shot to get his par.
Then Strafaci started the rally
that carried him to a deadlock at the
halfway mark. Both miSseI the
green on the sixteenth but Coria
approached strong to get par 3.
The st. Paul player hit two into the
water on the sixteenth and gave up.
Strafaci made one of the greatest
recovery shots in golf to get out
from beneath the cedars next to the
seventeenth green and get his par
4 for a halved hole. and squared
the match on No. Is when Coris
missed the green and took three to
get in. while Strafaci dropped in a
four-foot putt for par and win.
The match continued along that
way with each player clouting each
shot carefully and clicking of pars
until the twenty-Second where Stra-
faci dropped a seven-foot putt for
a birdie win and increased it TO
two up when Joes tee shot was wide
and hit a spectator on the side of