Evening star., 1939-04-16
Exhibition Golf Here
By Gu|dah|, Snead
Likely Mays
Congressional Is Ready
To Sign Stars; Picard
Gives Show Today
BY WALTER McCALLUM.


by officials of Congressional Coun-
try Club for an exhibition golf
match early next month starring
Ralph Guldahl, national open
champion, and Sammy Snead, pro-
fessional golf's latest sensation and
largest money winner of 1898.
The club Board Of Governors has
authorized the match and the date
Of May 3 tentatively has been set
while negotiations are being carried
on to get these top pros of the
land signed for the affair.
Tickets at a dollar apiece will be
sold and the exhibition will be open
to the public.
Witty Cox will be one of the play
ers and the fourth-not yet actually
named-may be Jimmy Thomson
the former Burning Tree assistant
whose mighty tee shots have won
him worldwide fame. Jimmy and
Snead are looked upon as the longest
hitters of a golf ball in this country
If not in the world.
Capital Debut for Snead.
This match, provided the negotia.
tions are successful, will be the big
gest exhibition held around Wash
ington this year and will mark the
first appearance of Snead in golf
togs around the Capital. Guldahl
played around Washington before he
became famous and Thomson de-
veloped his driving technique while
at Burning Tree 10 years ago, serv-
ing as assistant to his father
Wilfred Thomson. Cox is the Con-
gressional Country Club pro.
Such match, starring the open
champ and the two biggest maulers
of tee shots on the bunkered horizon
should pull the golf faithful to Con-
gressional in droves.
Guldahl closed the winter cam
paign by winning two of the major
Journeys of the year. including the
Masters" affair at Augusta. Snead
didn't win much money on the win
ter tour, but he will be a magnet
for the gallery. No young golfer in
years has so stirred the golfing pulse
of the Nation as this 27-year -old
former caddie from the Virginia
hills.
If the match cannot be arranged
for May 3, 1t will be held on a date
early in June before the open cham
pionship at Philadelphia, which
starts June 8.
Picard in Exhibition Today.
Meanwhile at East Potomac Park
arrangements went forward for
another match, with Snead again
one of the headliners. This one
tentatively billed for May IA. will
bring together Slamming Sammy
and Walter Hagen against Witty
Cox and Mel Shorey. East Potomac
Park pro. If it isn't held May IA,
it will be staged May %.
Henry Picard and Danny Bur-
ton will play at East Potomac Park
at 2:30 this afternoon against Mel
Shorey and Tommy Doerer.
Picard is to play in a private
match at Army Navy Country Club
this morning with Comdr. w. S.
Popham. Allan Burton and Ralph
Bogart.
Chip Shots.
They're really going to town at
Congressional with improvements
in the club house and around the
grounds they already have a
bridge across the ravine at the
9Th hole and are talking about
another bridge-a high one-across
the water hazard in front of the
10th tee.
George K. Brobeck, house chair
man, is going around with his face
wreathed in a happy grin on account
of the improvements in the grill
room for years that grill has
been sounding box . when the
boys gathered around their beers
at the 10th hole. the din was ter
rife :. but George and the engi-
neers got together and now it's all
sound-proofed against reverbera-
ton.
That golf course is in grand shape,
too, and will be in the pink for the
national open championship trials
on May % and don't be sur
prised to see Walter Hagen in the
local field trying to qualify for the
open he'll be around at that
time Walter laughed when
asked if he wasn't in the list of auto
matte qualif1ers II was pretty
busy trying to catch tigers last year."
he grinned.
Nor can Walter hand the present.
day pros much in the matter of
having fun -. "they go at it pretty
seriously" he said .. "and dunno
that I blame them =. the rewards
are pretty high nowadays, purses
are much bigger and they can't
be blamed for keeping in good con-
dition in such highly competitive
game" but Walter himself knows
the sight of the sunrise and If he
happens to play well that's all right,
too he isn't worried about it,
Terror, Hader Offer