Evening star., 1939-06-08
Gu|dah| 10 Lose
Crown, Declare
Rival Stars
Streak on Last Six
Holes to Determine
Champ, Says Cox
BY WALTER McCALLUM,
Star staff Correspondent.

star stan correspondent.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa, June 8.-Not
since golf dropped out of the red
| coat stage and became highly COM
mercialized game for every one ex-
cept the players have there been
as many opinions of the winner of
the national open championship as
the current and 43d annual joust,
which started today over the Spring
Mill course of the Philadelphia
Country Club, has aroused. Stoop-
shouldered Ralph Guldahl, the
camel-backed guy who has won the
last two championships, is the top
man. but the boys who have been
watching the others predict that
Ralph is in for an also-ran spot
this year.
But there's one thing on which
all the so-called experts are in ac-
cord, Par won't be broken or even
touched in the 1899 edition of the
national open. Never before has
there been an open championship
course with par of &c. And the
boys are all going around wailing
about how tough 1t is, and how you
can toss around the shots, how unfair
| the Tipped bunkers are and how mar
row the fairWays, until you get the
idea that the championship is be-
coming a wailing wall instead of an
affair to decide champion-and
maybe new one.
Estimates Up to 288.
AS Witty Cox, the District open
champ, cooked his cap on one ear
and belted big tee shot down the
fairWay at the 450-yard first hole
today he said: I'D like to have 286
in this tournament and let the 9TH
er boys shoot at it," Stubby little
Gene Sarazen stuck to his original
prediction of 288 Leo Walper clung
to 285 and Billy Burke, 1881 open
champion. said 286 will win. Now
par for the course is 276 for four
rounds. That will give you an idea
of how the original par busting gang
regards this course. Yet think be-
fore the champ bangs the winning
putt into the cup Saturday after
noon they are all going to be wrong
think it will take 282 to win.
Before every major tournament
the pros go around talking about
how tough the track is and how
they can't play it. They're like q
lot of football coaches, who have a
lousy team in September and a
championship outfit around Thanks
giving. And they break par just
the same. Only Oakmont has stood
the test of championships and this
course isn't any Oakmont, by a
couple of full brassie shots. It's
tough, and it's tight, and the greens
are hard, and not well-watered
But despite the fact that the boys
haven't been burning up the track
in practice rounds, they'll do it in
the championship itself They hit
the ball too far and too straight
The winning score will be within a
shot of 282.
Jimmy Thompson, the big BAN
of the tee shots, who didn't qualify
this year, thinks the championship
lies among six men. He rates
Guldahl, Cooper, snead, Picard,
Runyan and Wood the top men,
with a nod toward McSpaden and
maybe Billy Burke, one of the
straightest men hitting a golf ball
today. Jimmy also is a bear on
scoring. He thinks 286 will win.
But Jim didn't qualify. 1t might be
different if he were in there TODAY.
Course for Long Hitters.
TITS strictly a course for long
hitters,' said Cox. Men like Snead,
Guldahl, Craig Wood and Ghezzi
have a big edge in this one. They
can hit that ball so far they won't
get into much trouble"
Its a course where you don't have
to be so long, but you have to be
straight" says Leo Walper. the
Middle Atlantic P. G. A. champ.
You can take your choice between
these two views. And somehow you
get the idea that it's Henry Picards
time to win. The Hershey sharp
shooter stayed out of the Goodall
tournament last week to practice for
this one. At 80 Henry is due for a
big one. He has been too long de-
MED, and he may be the man of
(See GOLF, Page D-2O