Evening star., 1935-07-27
AMATEUR RULER
At PEAK OF GAME
Favored to Win His Fourth
Crown in National Play
at Cleveland.
BY WALTER r. McCALLUM.

~ Jr., the reigning amateur
Wv king Of the worlds divot
' lifters. is going to be
tough hombre to knock off the golden
seat early in September when some
200 Of our better sod-wallopers gather
at Cleveland to battle for the right 10
take a licking at the hands Of the
links robot from California.
He may and probably will be a
harder man to dethrcne than was Bob
Jones when the great one from At
lanta was rampaging up and down the
land. winning championships almost
as he willed.
Lawson Little's game is 25 per cent
stronger this year than 1t was last.
He still hits a colossal tee shot, as
long tee shot as any amateur in the
world, but the biggest sector Of i'm.
provement in the game Of the current
amateur king is in the iron shot range.
One brief glimpse of the Californian
at Burning Tree, where he played nine
holes In "a strokes and looked as II
he was taking 80, convinces us that
no amateur playing the game today
is going to push Lawson Little out of
his chance TO do something that never
has been accomplished before-the
winning Of four consecutive American
and British amateur titles.
Gears Game TO Opposition.
WITH so many fine amateurs ABROAD
w in the land. you would think that
some one might get a hot hand and
knock the champion of his seat. par
ticulsrly if Lawson has a bad round
such as he had in the first round OF
the late British amateur. But Law
son has that attribute of all great
championships ability to gear his
game up to the opposition and keep
his nose in front.
All champions have it, in greater or
lesser degree. and all champions who
amounted to anything in any sport
have had the ability to concentrate
and raise an ailing game to winning
heights. Lawson Little has it as few
men have it.
When you add to this the intense
concentration Of which he is capable.
plus his tremendous length and his
vastly improved iron game, you can't
consistently give any amateur in the
world better than an odds against
chance to whip him. He looks like a
man who is going TO go on winning for
long time. if he can keep that con-
centration and that will to win un-
sullied.
Lawson used to have to do Q lot
Of chipping and short pitching. He
missed the putting green's frequently
with those long irons, and even the
short ones. But the Lawson Little of
today isn't missing the greens far
with any iron shots. And he is also
one of the better putters to be To-
Gated anywhere along the bunkered
J fringe.
Has All Golf Requisites
/ A T BURNING TREE the other day
in that abbreviated jaunt- he
missed two green's in regulation flg-
ures. some of those iron shots we're
lengthy affslrs But he made up by
two booming iron shots and great
chip which found the cup. He
knocks the ball so far that the big
par 5 holes become drive and iron
holes for him. His chips were not
those lengthy rolling affairs Of 80
yards and more. They were little
wrist shots from a yard or two of
the green. practically of approach
putt length, and cinch to get down
in 2.
Who can beat him? Lots Of men
can, but no one will, If he keeps on
doing what he is doing. The field is
strictly limited, for Lawson could give
a couple of holes TO your ordinary
amateur and still whip him. There
are few hanging around who have
hot days. but Lawson can match their
hottest rounds with a round evan
more torrid.
Charlie Yates. the Western cham
pion; Johnny Goodman, Francis Oui-
met, John Fischer, Gus Moreland, Zell
Eaton. Maurice Mccarthy, Ross Som
erVlle and George Dunlap are among
the possibilities. with Willie Turnesa.
Ed White, Rodney Bliss and Don
Armstrong among the outsiders.
Lawson can beat any of them. The
24-year-old Californian has what it
takes. Cleveland will be no romp for
him, but he should win.