Evening star., 1938-05-20

anniversary VI MCLcOuS COIlIltCIOll
with Columbia. The old boy, still able
to play 36 holes any day you name, at
clip few youngsters can maintain
would be my choice to win the ma
tional open championship on any
course not over $500 yards in length.
And he isn't So bad on a course
around 6,700 yards. in case he hap
pens to know the breaks and rolls, as
he knows them at Columbia.
With mixture of awe and rever-
ence, tinged with little bit of regret
that we couldn't do as well, we
lumbia Country Club course in 72
WhackS, which is two shots above par.
In itself the score was not remark
able But the way he did it was. For
example, the Old Master hit four
greens in par figures in that round.
He had II one-putt greens, and he
used only "a puts in all. He bagged
two brides and all in all he played
a round of golf which to any other
Iinksman would have been 80 or
worse, and yet for him resulted in
u.
The likeable gent with the un-
dershot jaw is a literal marvel
with that little pitching tool he
calls the mashie- -niblick.
II they ever legislate the sand wedge
out of existence, Fred Mcleod will be
back on top. Today he is Americas
finest bunker player with all but the
automatic sand wedge, which makes
bunker play something less than
thing of skill.
Knows How to Putt
Freddie had 10 one-putt green's in a
row, starting at the seventh and end
ing at the 10th He got careless at
the 18th and missed 12-footer for
a bird, and ended by one-putting the
18th for par A. In other words, out
of II holes he one-putted II Of them.
All Of which, to your golf analyst,
means that he must have been Slip
ping those pitch shots fairly close. The
guy doesn't live who can keep on
holing long puts consistently, hole
after hole Benny Loving, assistant
pro at Congressional, played with Fred
along with DR.. Paul NJ Stewart. i've
heard lot about Freddie. and how
he can chip and putt" said Benny.
Il couldn't believe it until saw it with
my own eyes. He isn't long from the
tee. but he's mighty long with those
niblick shots and those puts. I still
don't see how they lick guy like
that. Give him 80 yards more off that
tee and he'd win the open champion
ship-in common walk"
Mcleod Golf Marvel.
Any way you figure Freddie Mcleod
he becomes pretty nearly marvel of
golf. He seldom leaves the line, even
though those screaming tee shots and
those pin-leveling brassie wallops of
yesterday don't come off as they used
to do. He isn't short. but he still
would be 40 or so yards back of the
big hitters of present-day golf, But
if Jimmy Thomson, Sammy Snead,
Henry Picard and the other top
liners could chip and pitch like the
North Berwick man you'd see some
records for the open championship
that would be records and not the
sissy marks of today.
Mcleod is throwback, il
you want to call guy throw
back who can get the ball into
the cup as he can.
It used to be that the man who could
chip and putt would win champion
ships. That's kinda been forgotten
in the modern era of the mighty
wallop, with the big hitters spraying
EN- far and wide regardless of rough
and hazards. But I still maintain
that if they played the open champion
ship on a tight little course around
5000 yards Id like little piece of
Freddie Mcleod. And Jack Doyle,
being a gent without lengthy back