Evening star., 1937-07-17
HIS HAND SHOWN
IN CHICAGO OPEN
He and Hagen Made Great
Pair, but Money They
Reaped Is Gone.
BY w. r. McCALLIlM,


~ HICAGO Is going to stage next
week = throwback to the old
whoopla days of professional
~ golf with $40 900 to be tossed
into pot for the pros, and With sohs
OF ballyhoo, done TO well-turned
brown by that master Of tub-thump-
ing-Bob Harlow.
In many ways the old master of
Misunderstanding Uhe Harlow him.
selt Is more Interesting than the
tournament or the guy who may win
it. Over the years Harlow, fat tummv
bobbing up and down, his brow
streaming with perspiration, has come
and gone wherever the bosses Of
mashe and midiron have ben doing
their stuff
He's Americas No. golf press
agent and its been a recurring mar
vel TO his friends that some OF the
dough that he has promoted and
come in contact with hasn't stuck to
his pudgy fingers He used tn be
promoter for the P. G. A. To,lrna-
ment Bureau and its top publicity
man until an upheaval within the
P. G. A. ranks tossed him out
Today he's beating the drum for the
Chicago open, and running Z little
golf syndicate on the side.
Becomes Hagsn's Pilot.
RUT it hasn't always been lean
pickings for Rob. He started
as leg man in Boston with one Of
the Hub newspaper and from that
he graduated into golf, covering all
the major tournaments for Interna-
tional News. From that he slid into
the job Of manager of Walter Hagen.
There his troubles started. Bob was
front man for the Haig during those
mad, glorious years when slick-haired
Walter was the cock of the profes-
slonal golf walk. They swanked their
way up and down the world. picking
up thousands Of dollars. and at the
end they were usually busted.
Harlow and Hagen made a team that
made the front page in every country
in the world. Between Walters color
and Bob's yen for headlines they
cemented ombination that got pub
llclty in every rag that prints golf
news. Harlow it was who steered
Walter through the mazes of British
indifference to pro golf: Harlow it
was with Walters help, who took
the pros out of the locker room and
brought EN- into the salon.
Harlow it was who dressed 'em np
in evening clothes and had them talk
ing good English. And Harlow and
Hagen who forced the British to ac-
cept the American pros in the svank
club houses of Britain.
Colorful Combina ton.
WE COULD so on by the hour and
tell tales Of that combina ton,
tales like the one about the time Hagen
made the 'front.' pages OF the London
newspapers when ne ordered fresh
strawberries flown from France ut q
cost of $3.50 for his breakfast: of
how he drove up to swankv British
clubs IN motor car that cost not less
than IS grand. OF how Bob arranged
match with Archie Compston for
-'SNO pobAias- I1dkeH l1HUH H1L
a golf ball for three months, and how
Bob was tearing his hair here IN
Washington trying to get Hagen to
leave Hollywood in time to catch
boat for Britain.
And how he finally got Hagen an
the boat and how Hagen was licked
by l8 and II and two weeks later won
the British open.
Hagen Not Same Since.
THESE and countless other
escapades were engineered hv
Bob Harlow. What pair they made.
Hagen hasn't been the same since.
In those days Bob was working for a
cut Of is per cent or therea bouts.
They say Hagen has made a million
out OF golf. But Bob hasn't shown
any sign of having sl5O,000, or any,
where near 1t.
The guy is marvel at anything con.
nected with golf promotion and the
queer part OF 1t Is that All the money
he's contacted over the years sr-
parently none Of 1t has stuck to his
pudgy palms.