Evening star., 1940-10-29
BY WALTER McCALLUM.

EVeIl Ill lllc udyo UdCh III 1900 anu
1884, when AL Houghton was VIM
ming a reputation as one of Amer
ica's better pro golfers, and the
straightest man in the country with
the big shots, Al was not playing
golf as he is playing it today.
True, back in those days Al had
his dreams. Not long out of the anna
teur ranks, in a game where fame
and fortune beckoned to the man
who could hit 'em straight and who
could putt, AL had thoughts of being
big winner in golf. That dream
hardly has come true, although the
silver-haired Beaver Dam mentor
has done all right.
But when they wrap up the 1910
season in moth balls, and conSign
it to the records, they'll find that
Al Houghton, the only local pro who
holds two titles, also has won more
money in prizes this year than any
man playing pro golf around Wash
lngton.
Al was talking about it, grinning
as he was accepting congratulations
on mis- latest victory-a win of the
District open championship. yep,
I've had pretty successful year."
he said. I've played the entire
local and sectional Circuit, and that
means I've played in all of them.
And I've won money in every tour
nament." A CLINT of pride lighted
his eye.
Has Won S1,500.
Il guess I've won around $500
in prize money this year" he said.
1T must be pretty close to that,
although I haven't kept accurate
track of it," Al won S10O by his
District open championship victory,
| accomplished by playing the lengthy
Congressional course in 71-70-141,
on raw, cold day when scoring was
tough. Lew Worsham, the 22-year-
old Burning Tree pro, was second
with 71-73-144. Andy Gibson of
Baltimore's Bonnie View Club was
third with 72-74-146, and Witty
Cox, the 1887 and 1888 champion,
was fourth with 73-75-148.
The 37-year-old Houghton has
been a good golfer for long stretch
OF years. He was good as an ANA
teur, and he was better after he
turned pro in 1880. But AL lust
now is having his best year. In
addition to the District open title,
he holds the Bedford Springs open
crown, tied for the Maryland open
championship and lost the playoff,
and only last week finished second
in the Middle Atlantic P. G. A.
championship. But he is prouder
of having placed in the money in
every tourney in which he played
this year than of the titles he has
won.
Il think that record of having
been money winner, either first,
second, third or fourth, is the mark
of consistency" said Al. I'm
prouder of that than anything else"
Of course, the dough has been
small in many of those Journeys.
There have been lots of little SIS
and $40 pickups, with a few up in
the bigger brackets. But Al thinks
a lot of those little ones. THE
opposition was just as tough in
those as it was in the big ones"
Tied with Lew Worsham over the
first round with II, Houghton
brushed aside all opposition by
breezing home with a subpar 10 in
the afternoon. That 70 was marked
by a 2-under par last nine, which
went like this:
Par ------ 443 534 444-35
Houghton ------ 434 424 444-33
That blazing stretch effectually
tossed off all pursuit, for Worsham,
his tee shot in hedge at the ninth,
took at the short hole. Witty
Cox, off his game all day, needed
rs to the last round, Nand Andy
Gibson never could close the gap
between himself and Houghton.
Worsham won $50 for the wife;
Gibson was $35 richer, while Cox
got $25 for his efforts and Leo
Walper and Ralph Beach split $25
for their 149s.
Ferrier Couldn't Putt.
Jim Ferrier, the big Australian
open and amateur champ, couldn't
master those keen Congressional
green's. He had six 3-putt green's
in the two rounds You don't win
with that kind of putting. Jim
and District Amateur Champ Ralph
Bogart tied for the amateur prize