Evening star., 1938-07-10
CHAMPION .SHUTE
AGAIN AFAV0R|TE
GuIdah| Also Rated Highly.
Cox and Wa|per Carry
D. c, Standard.
BY WALTER McCALLUM.


SHAWNEE-O E-ON-DELAWARE. Pa,
July 9-National and sectional cham
pions were quoted at less than a dime
a dozen here tonight as ll8 of the top
professional golfers Of the land wound
UP their practice rounds. pronounced
the course in fine shap, and made
ready for the first Of two qualifying
rounds tomorrow for the Professional
Golfers Association championship.
Ralph Guldahl the stoop-shouldered
two-time National Open champion. and
Denny Shute, reigning P. G. A. title
holder. were among the top favorites
tn win the crown in a week-long tour
nament which will start tomorrow
and wind up next Saturday. with the
fnalists billed to wade through a &C.
hole medal round and six matches be-
fore champion is named in the big
gest professional match-play affair Of
the year.
Cox and Walper Entered.
Washington entries are Witty Cox,
District open king from the Congress
sional Country Club. long a contestant
IN Shawnee open tournaments and a
former winner of the San Francisco
match-play championship. and Leo
Walper. Middle Atlantic P G. A. cham
pion and driving range professional
Both the Washington contestants
wound up their practice rounds today
with near-par scores and said they
were ready for the medal test tomor-
row. Denny Shute of Boston, the ICY
nerved string bean who holds the pro
crown. does not have to qualify. but
will play in the medal round for
chance at the Alex Smith Memorial
Medal and the $3.50 prize dough which
goes to the winner.
Six former National Open champions
and at least 20 sectional professional
champions are in the all-star field
which has been topped by Shute for
the last two years.
Cox will start on the first medal
round tomorrow at 1:l2 pm. paired
With Byron Nelson of Reading, Pa,
winner of the rich Belmont Springs
tourney last year and Joe Paletti of
Sunnycroft, Clarksbure. w. Va. Walper
will play at 1906 pm. with Norman
Clark Of Wayzata. Mimi, and Henry
Ransom of Bryan. Tex.
Hagen Out of 1t.
Out of the whirl of medal play SO
pros and the defending champion will
qualify Monday at the end of the 3e-
hole stroke test for the match-play
rounds, with two of the sudden death
ts-hole matches slated for Tuesday
Then the tourney will settle down to
se-hole matches through the final next
Saturday. Walter Hagen. four times
P G. A. champion. announced earlier
as q starter, will not play, which will
rob the tournament Of some Of its
gallery interest. but Art Brown, op-
orator OF Shawnee and sponsor for the
tourney, expects big crowds for the
premier pro tourney of the year, with
its $4,000 prize money.
Shawnee is abut 80 miles from New
York and Philadelphia. and is within
easy reaching distance Of hundred
rolflng communities in PENNSYLVANIA
and New Jersey
The course is located in the meadows
formed by bend of the Delaware
River, 3 miles north of the famed
Delaware Water Gap, and long has
been mecca for pro golfers.
The Shawnee open is one of the old
eet professional tournaments in the
land. and has been won by some of
the leading pros, among them Fred
Mcleod of Columbia. Jimmy Thom-
son, playing pro at Shawnee and the
"dege gun of the game. will be one
Of the favorites. Thomson WAS run
ner-up to Shute in the latter's ini-
ttal P. G. A. victory at Pinehurst in
1886.