Evening star., 1938-12-26
for Golf Titles Seen for Snead Once He Hits Tourney Stride
Sam, Links Natural, , :
Expected 10 Top
All Pro Feats
Exceptional Touch, Feel
Give Young Star Big
Chance to Climb
By WALTER McCALLUM.

|
"a lot of fellows have asked me-
said rotund Mr.. Tommy Mcnamara,
why Sammy Snead, who has won
more money in tournaments this
year than any pro who ever lived,
| doesn't win himself a national
championship. They seem surprised
that fellow who can go along
winning nearly $4,000 in a tough
campaign, can't seem to come
through in the big ones"
Mr.. Mcnamara in case you don't
know, works for the same golf out
fit that pays Slamming Sammy a
neat piece OF change for boosting
their wares. You could almost say
that Mr.. Mcnamara owns a piece
of Sammy, although that wouldn't t
be gospel, for Mr.. Mcnamara also
feeds at the same trough. But you
get the idea that Tommy, although
he carries the torch for big Ralph
Guldahl, member of the same
stable, thinks Mr.. Snead is the fair
haired boy of pro golf.
Il don't know how they can eX-
pect a kid just out of prep school
in golf, to win major champion
ship Mr.. Mcnamara pointed out.
why Sammy is hardly dry behind
the ears in this tournament racket.
But he has everything it takes"
Likely to Crack Record.
Listen to me and put this down
in your little red book: When
Sammy starts winning the big ones
when he finally crashes through
he II pile up record like no other
pro ever has made. He probably
will win five or six open champion
ships before he slips back. And
you never know how long he'll 60
on.
Sammy is a clean-l living kid,
who doesn't drink or smoke He's
a natural athlete who takes care
of himself, and who has more touch
and feel than any man who has
come up in golf in a long time.
Honest, I think Sammy, when he
wins a major championship, will
set record for winning the big
ones that will go beyond that of
any other modern pro. And you
know the competition is tougher
now than it was in the days when
played tournaments
Tommy was runner-up in the
open championship himself a mat
ter OF % years ago. He has been
through the mill and he knows
his golf and golfers. with the
game as it is these days a man
would have to be more than human
to win them all" he said. "Guldahl
was almost more than human this
year to win the National and the
Western in a space Of less than two
weeks. Jones won four United
States open championships over an
8-year stretch. Maybe no pro ever
will touch that record, but if it is
touched I look for either Snead or
Guldahl to do it.
Snead Is Golf Natural"
"You have to remember that with
all his reputation and skill Hagen
only won two American open cham
pionships. And Sarazen with all
he had on the ball. only was able
to win two. And there is Cooper,
one of the truly great ones of golf,
who never has won national crown.
THE open championship, you
must understand, is a matter of
getting hot at the right time, and
staying hot. Now I don't want to
compare Guldahl or Snead. They
are my boys. in way. But I do
think that Sammy before 1945 will
come pretty close to tieing Bobby
Jones record of winning four ma
lor tournaments in eight years or
less.
That kid has everything. He
couldn't win more than $4,000 in a
single campaign without knowing
plenty about scoring. And some
day he's going to get his nose out
in front and stay there. He'll win so
many championships it'll get to be
case just like that of Bobby Jones.
Remember how they used to say
about Bob: There's the champion.
It's simply a question of who will
finish second"
You have to accept the word of
an expert like. Mcnamara, even
though he might be a little bit
biased. After all, pro-golf is a COM
mercial game and Tommy is in the
business. But he probably has
something there, in those observa-
tions on Sammy Snead. The Vir-
ginia boy is the biggest natural
to come along in flock of years.