Evening star., 1938-06-08
GuIdahl, Snend and Cooper 81 FarOrites IN IT, S. Or
FAT SCORE LIKELY.
TOCAPTURE TITLE
Sarazen and Horton Smith
Chide Squawkers as Par
Comes Hard.
BY RUSS NEWLAND,
Associated Press Sports Writer.


DENVER, Colo, June 8.-America's s
finest professional golfers. plus a
sprinkling Of fairly solid contenders
from the amateur ranks, fired final
practice shots today in the warm-up
for the 1888 national open champion
ship.
The big show gets under way tomor-
row. On the basis of practice spins
and form charts, it shaped up as q
wide open scramble, with the seasoned
campaigners apparently holding no
great advantage over contingent of
lesser lights from all sections of the
country. Only three places remain to
be filled, by alternates, to bring the
rtarting field up to maximum of ITO.
Pathways Of the Cherry Hill course
were a patchwork of divots which only
bore mute testimony to the fact that
the par 35-36-7l layout is consid-
erably tougher than 1t looks on the
surface.
Its 6,826 yards spread out over mar
row fairways, fringed by some ball.
snaring water hazards, and terminat-
Ing In postage-stamp-siz greens. De-
spite considerable "squawking" over
the, extent of the rough and furrow-
ing OF sand traps, most pros rated
Cherry Hills fair test"
Only Picard Equals Par.
Sup-par and even par performances
Tor a full round have been conspicu-
ously lacking during the pre- tourna-
CfriE
yesterdays practice rounds in cold and
rainy weather. Only Henry Picard of
Hershey, Pa, had a par-equalling
effort for l8 holes. It's the consensus
OF railbirds that 285 won't be broken
for "a holes.
Whether the training sessions should
serve as medium of forecast was
questionable, however, as most of the
entrants obviously were not bearing
down. Some played two balls on every
shot, such as Gene Sarazen, twice
former champion, and Dick Metz, the
gooo-looklng young Texan now CAM
paigning out of Chicago. Others hit
three or four shots from one spot,
seeking the easiest way to master
course which thus far has yielded a
minimum of golf prescribed for it as
standard" and which features the
toughest three finishing holes any
open has known in years.
The 6S produced by Sam Snead, a
Few. days ago, remained as the best
practice round as the championship
aspirants took their last filings. Since
then the West Virginia swatsmith has
had his troubles, He took an approx
innate 78 yesterday.
Champ Has Troubles.
Snead was playing in the same four
some with Defending Champion Ralph
Guldahl, who had his share of grief,
too. Guldahl, fumbling shots from the
rough, unburdened himself of caustic ]
comment at the idea Of being COM
PEELED to play from "such heavy grass"
A number Of rivals made similar shots
appear easy, however, and as Horton
Smith pointed out: "One of the objects
OF this game is to stay on the fair
ways"
Sarazen, the only time winner
on hand, dismissed the grumblings of
some Of his colleagues with the ex-
PLANTATION: '"They haven't played a
course like this for years. Some of
them want polo field to work on.
You have to control the ball here and
some of the second shots call for real
judgment"
Betting books listed Guldahl and
Snead, with Harry Cooper, all at 8
to /. A poll of players also revealed
sentiment for the chances of Paul
Runyan, Tony Penna, Horton Smith,
Dick Metz, Henry Picard, Tony Ma
reno, 1896 title winner, and John Re-
volta. There was some question as to
Revolta becoming a starter, however,
due to finger cut suffered during
the Kansas City open last week.