Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-09-11
The
SP0RTLIGH7
Amateur Golf Tourney
Top Guessing Event
BY GRANTLAND RICE,
anenial Correspondeut Of The Star

1t was at North Shore Coun-
try Club that Johnny Goodman
hooked up with Francis Ouimet,
Chick Evans, Jerry Travers and
Bobby Jones. The stocky entry
from Omaha became one of six am
ateurs good enough to win both the
open and the amateur crown.
Now Johnny is one of the field
working for a chance to qualify and
maybe regain the lost amateur title
which Willie Turnesa hopes to de-
fend.
This championship is one of the
great guessing matches of sport. 1t
covers almost every State you can
locate on the map from Washington
to Florida-from Texas to Maine
The guessing match now is under
way. Bud Ward? Willie Turnesa?
Johnny Fischer? Art Doering?
Johnny Goodman? Charley Yates?
Pat Abbott or Mccormick? Chick
Harbert? Utah's Ed Kingsley? Dick
Chapman?
AS George AIDE once wrote, High
east winds prevail in the locker
room" The winds that prevail in
the locker room at North Shore come
from all four corners and they are
quite brisk. They cover around
100000 square miles of bunkered
terrain and this is quite enough
ground for any guessing affair.
Ward, West Coost Stor,
Looks Man to Beot
Each section has its supporters,
but in my opinion one Marvin (BudD
Ward, the Tacoma Terror, will be
the man to beat.
The best amateurs must include
Ward, Turnesa. Doering, Chapman,
Yates, Mccormick, Abbott. Goodman
and Harbert-to mention only a few.
But don't believe any one in this
field except Ward could trade shots
on even terms with such pros as
Nelson, Picard, Wood, Guldahl, Metz
and others-aS Ward has done.
He did this in the San Francisco
Open where, among others, he
moved down Horton Smith and
Lawson Little. He won the North
western Open. He could easily have
won the last United States Open
with any luck at all. Even as it was
the big hitter from the Northwest
was only shot away.
Ward is the only amateur we
now have who can wade into the
middle of the top pros and swing
on even terms at either match or
medal play.
Toeomo Terror Regarded
Good Match for Pros
I talked recently with a number
OF leading pros who were discussing
our Ryder Cup selection before the
show was Cancelled.
I'D certainly put Ward on the
Ryder Cup team if he were a pro, "
one OF them said, land I'd rank him
no worse than fifth-Nelson, Picard
Guldahl, Metz-and then Ward He
has everything it takes-power and
control, long off the tee, a fine iron
player, consistent putter and above
all the winning temperament, which
largely means ability to concen-
trate on each shot at time"
This doesn't mean that Bud Ward
Is the whole show, including the
pink lemonade, the sawdust and
the elephants.
There can be volcanic upheavals
when those two-a-day 18-hole
matches start. There are any num-
Der of crack amateurs in this field
who can shoot the North Shore
course around 10 or 70 on a good
day, and this pace might easily wipe
out any one.
Putting Makes Goodman
Menace in Tourney
1t was at North Shore some years
ago that big Ralph Guldahl, then a
raw Texas kid, came charging down
the stretch like a runaway locomo-
tive In the National Open.
He was trailing Johnny Goodman
by at least 10 strokes when he came
to the last round and when he came
to the last green Guldahl had only
q simple pitch shot to the green fol-
q sure tie.
He missed the green, only loo
yards away, caught a guarding trap
and then exploded out-only 3 OF
4 feet from the cup. He blew the
putt and there were many who fig
ured he had also blown his last
chance for an open. The records
show how wrong they were.
Goodman proved in his last tour.
nament at Arcola that he was bach
on his former pace. He may no
have quite the length for this 1000.
yard course, but he still can take
care of himself around the green's
where most matches are won o.
lost
You can't win if you can't putt
And If you can putt you are {
match for any one, as some old SEQ
remarked.