Evening star., 1938-07-15
BY WALTER McCALLUM,
sta6 Correspondent Of The Star.


SHAWNEE ON = DELAWARE, Pa,
July 15.-sturdy little Billy Picard
looked up with the shy, naive grin of
. 6-year-old seeing one Of the big
ctrcuses Of his young life. eyes, sir,
my daddy is q good golfer. He's 60
ing to beat the world. He'll beat them
all, and he'll win this tournament. I
swing just like him, and some day
I'm going to be good golfer like my
daddy"
You get the conviction after watch
ing Billy's daddy play in the p. G. A.
championship, which moved into its
semifnal phase today, that young
Billy Picard, 6-year-old son Of Henry,
has something there. His daddy is
long overdue for q national crown.
Long. lean Henry, nicknamed the
Chocolate Soldier" because he took
over the pro job in Hershey, Pa, three
years ago after q successful interlude
in Charleston. s. c., where he piled
up quite a reputation as a wrecker
Of big golf regulations, has been due to
win one Of the big ones for quite a
stretch OF years. At 81 years Henry
is far from an old man. AS topline
tournament competitors go, he is just
about in his prime and he is due. &C.
cording to the dope, to thump indomi-
table little Paul Runyan out Of the
tournament in the semifinal round
today, where again, according to the
fallible and often upset dope, he will
meet smiling Sammy Snead from
swanky White Sulphur Springs, w.
Va, In the final tomorrow.
Throat Cutting Game in Prospect.
II final like that comes off-and
they're praying around Shawnee that
1t does come off-the slim galleries
will see two Of the greatest golf play
ers in the world cutting throats for
the p. g. A. title dumped two days
ago by Denny shute, but first Picard
has to whip Runyan today, and Snead
has to whack freckle-faced, good
looking Jimmy Hines, the metropolitan
open champion.
Sammy Snead, like Picard, is a neo-
phyte to final rounds in the p. G. A.
championship. This is the best either
Of them has been able to do. Runyan
won four years ago at Buffalo on a
course much shorter than this one,
and Hines, a mighty better in his own
right, also is new to the late rounds
of the pro match play championship.
1t means something to me, but it
mightn't mean anything to Jimmy
Hines, to relate that Snead, the dumb
looking guy with the smart golf
brains, has played Ill holes so far
In this championship before today's
match started and is just IA under
par. None Of the other three semi
finalists is anywhere near that record,
and II Sammy can stay in that groove
1t looks like q walk in for him. But
can he? That's the blazing question.
He likes the course, but so do the
others. They wouldn't be In there
today unless they could play it.
Long Irons Out Of Place.
In way the Picard thing is kinda
funny, too. when you figure the angles
pic" is an acknowledged master Of
the long irons. something like Witty
Cox in his ability to punch those
lengthy iron shots close up against
the stick. He isn't noted as a top
notcher with the pitching clubs, al
though he's good enough. As the
Shawnee course plays 1t isn't one Of
those layouts where long iron play
helps so much. The second shots either
are pitches or wooden club wallops
for the pros. But Picard, the king Of
the long iron shooters, Is in there,
along with Runyan, the master Of the
pitching and putting game.
It only proves again that when you
try to dope golf ON mastery of shots
you're apt to be completely stymied.
The putting is the thing that counts.
Just sas it did yesterday on the 34th
green with Jimmy Hines, who dumped
", q 10.footar fo m ,,p ~, ronLx,