Evening star., 1939-06-11

lOlIl L IL SJ y
tie on the dumbness or the kirid-
ness of Sammy Snead, the big boy
from West Virginia. Sammy had
the championship signed, sealed and
delivered with a par necessary on
the loth an easy par 5 hole to win
by a stroke. Shooting down a hu-
man lane of 5000 persons. he rolled
up an 8 on the final hole for the
greatest bloWup in the history of
this championship and finished in
fifth place, with 286 when he should
have won going away.
Needs 5 to Reach Green.
ANY l0-handicap man with a
reasonably good swing could play
that 558-yard 18th hole of this
course in five shots. ANY probably
would, with buck nassau hanging
on 1t. But Slamming Sam, with the
national open championship de-
pending on an easy par 5, took eight
whacks to a hole that isn't as hard
as the fifth at Columbia or the
eighth at Chevy Chase in the
Capital.
He topped his tee shot, hooked his
second into bunker short of the
green, fluffed one in the sand,
knocked his fourth into another
bunker, finally got on with his fifth
40 feet away, then three-putted for
an 8.
1t may mean the finish for
prnS haJfn hnn,N
go haywire after a dismal flop like
that before thousands of people.
The only parallel to it is the his
torlc and tragic case of Roland
Hancock at Chicago in 1928, where
the burly North Carolinian had
two IS to win the open and finished
with brace of 6s.
But even that flop is hardly as
complete and tragic as that of the
man they called the "uncrowned
king of golf
To understand it. you must realize
that the hole is one that Snead,
one of the longest hitters in the
game, could reach in two shots.
Craig Wood did it with a drive
and brassie. to tie for the title a
few minutes after Sneads failure.
And how Sam. with 5 to win,
and he knew it. could take eight
shots is beyond the comprehension
of every one here tonight.
FalterS on Last Two Holes.
Had he bagged q par he would
have had 283 and definitely and
finally closed the door on the trio
who tied. A s would have put
him in the first quadruple tie in
the history of the championship.
But he took 8, probably the only
he has taken in a year of cam
paigning.
Maybe Sam can win the open
some time. He should. for he has
all the shots and certainly he has
the physical equipment. But he
never will win if he plays the final
hole in the title tourney like .
clown, as he did today.
Leading the field through the
10th hole with strokes to spare,
Sammy faced the 7lst-a fairly easy
par 4 affair-with two pars for
202. He took five at the list, which
still left him a for 283.
Marvin BUD Ward of Spokane,
Wash, was in with 285. Nell
son, winding up day of terrific
scoring, in which he hit II and So.
was in the locker room waiting for
second money with his 284.
Every one. on and off the course,
felt that Snead was the new
champion, even stoop- -shouldered
Guldahl, who had finished ahead
of Snead with 288. in a tie for
seventh position. Then came the
big blow-up, unparalleled in open
championship history.
Wood Barely Misses Win.
1t left the door open for Wood to
slip in and for Shute to win a few
minutes later. Wood. chaperoned
through the final round by Congress
sional Pro Witty Cox, now needed
two pars to tie. with Shute still on
the course and going like a wild man.
He got his par at the 18th or list,
and faced the long 18th with birdie
to tie.
Banging a big tee shot straight
down the middle, he carefully sur
Veyed the bunkers surrounding the
green and taking brassie from his
bag hit one of the great shots of anv
golf tournament-a screaming low,
running ball that ended on the green
II feet from the pin. The birdie
looked sure and the eagle and a win
possible. He Tipped the cup with his
putt before gallery grown by this
time to 1000 persons, then racked up
284 along with Nelson.
Still out on the course was icv-
nerved Shute, the gent with the
great putting stroke, playing like a
wild man and with the champion-
ship tucked aWav with six holes to