Evening star., 1937-08-01
BY W. r. MCCALLUM.

~ LID POINT COMFORT, Va,
I July 3l-Wiffy Cox, the tall
I Drowned pro from Kenwood
~ Golf and Country Club,
holed brace OF mighty puts on the
finishing holes of the Chamberlin
course this afternoon to lead a field Of
% of the paid clan into the final half
of the 72hole championship Of the
Middle Atlantic Professional Golfers
Association.
Witty put together rounds Of "a and
II for total of 145, one over par for
the twin circuit Of the course. He
wound up with a brace OF brides on
the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth holes
and led his nearest rivals by single
shot with two more rounds to be
played tomorrow.
First money in the tourney will be
5000 and 500 will be split among the
first 10 fnishers.
Cliff Spencer. retiring Beaver Dam
pro, the first-round leader, and Jack
Isaacs of Newport News, Va, were tied
for second place with 36-hole totals Of
l46, followed by Roland Mackenzie.
long hitting Congressional pro, and
Ralph Beach Of Baltimore, tied at lat.
Spencer scored 7O-76-l46 1saacs
had 75-71-l76, Mackenzie had 73-
74-147 and Beach had 7l-76-l47.
Bob Barnett of Chevy Chase and
Leo Walper of Bethesda were next,
bracketed at l49 Other Washington
pros were strung out farther down the
line to George Diffenbaugh's 159. The
District open champ, badly of his
stick, opened with an 83 and turned
in a creditable rs in the afternoon.
All Have Putting Troubles.
Had Cox had any considerable put
ting luck his second round Of II
might easily have been a IS or better.
On hole after hole he missed puts Of
less than 8 feet Making few me-
chanical mistakes through the fair
way. he didn't sink putt until the
thirty fifth, where he canned a Is
footer for birdie 3.
Coming to the thirty-sixth he
pushed his tee shot to the right on
the 296-yard hole, knocked his second
over the back of the green and ran q
40-footer up slope into the cup for
his second straight birdie and his one
shot lead
Like all the other boys, Cox had
plenty of trouble with the Bermuda
putting green's The ball, instead OF
rolling smoothly as it does on bent
grass, hops around on Bermuda and
lem.
Plenty lucky" grinned Witty, as
he bumped in the 40-footer over the
slope of the thirty-sixth green. 1T
might have been a instead of 81
But he blew half-dozen others
under 6 feet. With little putting
luck tomorrow he'll crack 70.
Spencer ran hog wild with his put
ter over the first round, scoring q
under-par 10. He bagged seven brides
in that round, after driving straight
through from New York to get here
in time for the tournament. But
they weren't going down in the after
noon round, in which he scored rs.
Cox, Spencer Paired Today.
MACKENZIE hit the ball through
T the fairways better than he has
hit it in months, but he also had put
ting trouble. The thirteenth hole was
a good example of the play of Cox and
Mackenzie. Also the seventeenth and
eighteenth. At the thirteenth Mac
Kenzie holed 6footer for 2, while
Cox missed 2-footer for the half. AT
the thirty Cox holed a 15-footel
| for bird 3 and Mackenzie missed 9
5-footer. And at the thirty-sixth Co,
holed a 40-footer while Mackenzie
missed a 4-footer.
That's the way the putting is or
these uncertain greens. Cox said
they would have been better had they
| Sanded 10-fOOt circle around the
| cup.
Cox and Spencer were paired FOL
the last two rounds tomorrow, start
ing at 9:35 and 1885. Mackenzie
and Barnett will play together a,
Gas and las, while Walper will
play at 9:40 and 40 with Erie Ball
the Charlottesville blond, who scored
ISL.
Mackenzie hit two Of the great
shots of the tournament on the par-s
fifteenth hole. where two vooder
clouts left him An 0-foot putt tor &C