Evening star., 1940-06-09
Pars Ree|ed Off
Late by Gene
Get 287 Tie
Oliver Equals Score,
Is Disqualified;
Title Up Today
Continued From Page AID

ment," said Gene. II am playing In
tournament under the U. S. G. A.
But 1 think Oliver got the worst
break any player has had in all the
history of golf.
1T was his mistake These young
players should be disciplined and
learn the rules of the game. But
even though personally Id like to
see Ed in there playing off, it ISM
my tournament and what I think
hasn't anything to do with it."
Little, streaking ahead of most
of the field, tied for the lead at the
end of the second round, was a shot
behind Frank Walsh with one
round to go, and then, when Walsh,
Sam Snead, Horton Smith, Ben
Hogan and lot of good golfers
started tossing the bauble around
among them, steadied down to shoot
final 70 for 287.
But Lawson, good as he was. left
the door open for the tie with a
bogey on the 440-yard 18th hole.
Had he gotten down in the regula-
ton par the door would have been
closed.
Gene Makes Blazing Finish.
Sarazen, blazing hot over the
third round of the championship
with 2 under par 70. reached the
turn this afternoon in 38 and SEEM
ingly was out of winning chance
But his putter saved him. He canned
15-footer for a bird deuce at the
llth, holed a good one for a par on
the next and crossed the road to
the 18th tee with level par of 5, g.
TO tie.
He got his par at the 6l5-yard
18th, where 45-footer nearly
dropped and then ran into real
trouble at the 17th. That hole is
23O yards in length and a tough
number, The pin was on the right
behind bunker, Gene tried to cut
one in and pushed it into a bunker
He had to have 3 to tie.
He flung a wedge shot up "a feet
past the pin and rolled the putt in
as true as a die That left him a
par to tie No finer shot ever was
hit than his spoon second to the
middle Of the green. Gene. never
one to be short, rolled 3 45-footer
past the hole and tapped in the 10
inch putt that tied Little.
Snead Goes to Pieces.
1t was the usual open champion
ship finish. At least a dozen men
had a chance to win the champion
ship and tossed it. But the worst
of them all was Samuel Jackson
Snead. Here was the perfect
golfer. the man who set cham
pionship and course record in the
opening round with 81. tied for
the lead at the thirty sixth hole
finishing the championship with an
81. 1t makes one wonder if Sam
ever will win this championship, for
no man ever trained harder than he
did for this one. ..
One couldn't say he dogged it
but the ball wouldn't go. Sam had
three IS in his final round. He had
played 81 holes previously without
a g. Sam finished dismally with
295, away down there, in tie with
three others for sixteenth place.
Andrew Gibson. the Scottish pro
from Baltimore, finished nineteenth
with 296 and won't have to qualify
next year.
Sarazen, at 38, if he wins tomor-
row, will become the second oldest
al 70 yrytr, T,tf foI fot1
open. Gene started playing in this
championship at Columbia in 1921
He won at Chicago the following
year and won the P G. A. cham
pionship in 1928 Title after title
| fell to the stocky Italian American
with the impish grin. He won the
British open in 1882 and won the
American open again at Fresh
Meadow the same year.
Oliver Is Too Hasty.
Little, king of world amateurs in
1884 and 1885, when he won the
United States and British titles
each year for the little slam" OF
golf. turned professional in 1896
Since he had done practically
nothing in big time golf with the ex.
ception of a win of the Frisco match
play tourney two years ago.
But he was all right here. Little
won his last national championship
here in Cleveland in 1885. The towr
has been good to him. He crushed
Walter Emery in the final of the
1885 amateur championship anc
then turned pro. He can win hi:
first open here.
Oliver. of course, is the prize sap
He came out with Dutch Harri
son and John Bulla ahead of hi
starting time this morning and drovl
from the first tee Ahead of then
had gone Leland Gibson, KY Laffoor
and Claude Harmon.
Joe Dey, secretary of the U. S
G. A.. came out of the clubhouse
figuratively wiping the breakfas
egg from his chin and barged int
the situation. Later the U. S. G. A
ruled that the boys, having startee
ahead of their scheduled time ans
without official sanction, were dis
qualified.
1t was the toughest break in th'
world for Porky. But maybe he ha'
learned his lesson, And maybe HI
would have won. You can't pla!
much golf when you don't know
whether you are in the tournament
Smith Muffs Title Chance.
Porky was the fall guy, but th'
man who really tossed the it'll
away was Horton Smith. Horton
took 78 on the third round toda!
with three IS in it. He finished
with a 69-his second of the tourna
mentor 288, shot behind th'
leaders. Craig Wood, with a chance
to win on the last round, couldn'
produce the 50 he needed. He fin
ished all alone at 289. in fourth
place.
Tied with Ralph Guldahl, Ber