Evening star., 1938-09-17
.DRAb LTLEAVES
|. TOURNEY IN RED
Many 'Simon-Pure' Players
Rate Far Above National
FinaIists Today.
BY WALTER McCALLUM,
Star Stan Correspondent.

OAKMONT. Pa. Sept. 17.-Craggy-
faced Pat Abbott, from Altadena,
Calf, who is slim edition of the
late Lon Chaney in "The Haunchback
Of Notre Dame" and who objects to
being called movie actor, was the
underdog today in the nnal match
for the National amateur golf cham.
pionship. Willie Turnesa, the slick
haired boy from Briarcliff Manor, N.
Y. carried most Of what the boys
call the smart money. But Abbott,
playing in his second national cham
pionship final in two years. Is no
cream puff to be licked before he
starts. Turnesa, hot on the trail Of
his first national championship, must
lick him on the golf course with golf
clubs. Abbott isn't the kind of gent
TO leave his game in the locker room.
TWenty-five-year- -old Abbott, strict.
ly q swinger In this golf game and a
boy who never hits the ball with the
punch OF Charlie Yates, is the sur
prise package In the most surprising
OF amateur championships. Through
all the years they've been staging these
simon-pure scrambles, this final to-
day, the 42d of the series, is the
most unusual Of the bunch. Before
the tournament started you could
have written your own ticket against
Abbott, the obscure guy with the
craggy-angled face, who pals around
with Ellsworth Vines, the tennis
tycoon. and whose only claim to links
fame previously was a victory in the
public links championship Of 1896.
Turnesa Up to Touting.
You could have written your own
ticket against Abbott, but not against
stylish Willie Turnesa. For four or
flve years now they've been touting
Willie a. . coming amateur cham
plon. Today he has his big shot at
the crown. They don't come often,
these chances, and If Willie blows
this one, he won't have many more.
But on what he has done to date,
you can't sell Abbott short. Only an
other name in the constellation Of
stars who started here i've DAYS back.
this skinny little guy, who weighs
around 1875 pounds soaking wet has
plowed his way through . good field
TO the final round. Against Dick
Chapman yesterday he didn't have to
show any sizzling golf, for Dick liter
ally beat himself with as poor a brand
OF golf as you'll ever see in any cham.
plonship semi-f1nal. But Abbott
always with his stubby nose out In
front, never gave an inch, even when
Chapman staged a rally that won
three holes IN row in the late stages
OF the match. Abbott answered this
sally with a brace OF IS in a row the
last one birdie from 3 feet to win the
match.
II he wins today, and he can win.
he will be the first former public links
champion ever to grab the national
amateur championship. Plenty of nu-
nicipal champs have tried, but none
ever before has reached the final In
the big show. Abbott has played be-
fore Washington gallery. Just after
ne licked Claude Rippy in the final
OF the 1896 public links tournament
ne came to Washington to play at
Potomac Park. There Rippy licked
him by something like 3 to 2. But
Abbott is better golfer than he
showed there.
Turnesa Wins on 33d.
Turnesa. clinging like a Revolta ia
sim lead over scrappy little Kings
ley, the copper sampler from Utah,
hnally won on the 33d. Willie was in
golf match. against a rough, tough
little scrapper who didn't give an inch
as the supreme stylist Of the amateur
made infrequent mistakes.
Turnesa played better golf to beat
Kingsley than Abbott played to lick
Chapman. But you never know about
comparative scores in golf. Abbott
didn't have to turn on the heat. Chap
man beat himself The Scotch didn't
run out, but the stimulation that
helped him whip Goodman foosled
away into dud, as his putting went
sour. and his tee shots found gobs of
trouble.
The only conclusion you can reach.
after watching these boys battle Oak
mont's ferocious stretches, is that
there isn't really first-class amateur
golfer in America today. There isn't
one around with the class Of Bob Jones
or the George Won Elm of 1926, or the
Francis Ouimet or Chick Evans of 20
years ago. Turnesa may develop into
quite . golfer, but he isn't one vet.
And Abbott. even though he Is in the
final round Of the amateur champion
ship today, couldn't carry Bob Jones
golf bag 10 years ago.
Just what can be done about It Isn't
clear. The United States Golf Asso-
citation badly needs q big winner and
. guy with personality. Neither Tur-
mesa nor Abbott has much Of the latter
commodity. They 60 about their work
with the dead pan Of q W. p. A
ditch mechanic, although Turnesa
Is quite fancy dresser. He changes
his togs between rounds. appearing In
q brown outfit In the morning and a
snappy yellow number in the matinee
session. Abbott is riot Of drab gray
They have about as much color as a
pair Of trained heas battling for the
Havana championship, and even
though you'll hear a lot Of converse
tion about what a grand tournament
1t Is, featuring two lads from opposite
sides Of the country, 1t might be an
other final Of the Sleepydale invitation
tournament.
But at that they're pretty good. They
had to be to wade through . field like
this one, over the most testing course
Of them all, but Pittsburgh and the
golf bugs have done q great Job Of
passing up this tournament. The gate
will hardly pay the cost Of the fore
caddies and the press tent. It's one Of
those what Of 1t" affairs. this flnal