Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-09-09
Practice Round Of 8
Hints Crooner Won't
Be Around Long
Favored Ward Shoots 60
AS Links Aces of u. S.
Tune at Mumuroneck
BY GAYLE TALBOT,
Associated Press Sports Writer,

MAMARONECK,N N. Y, Sept. g.
Glamor and romance finally have
come to the national amateur golf
championship in its forty-fourth
year, for Bing Crosby himself was
among the $50 players who were
digging around the Winged Foot
Club today in the first qualifying
round of the title event.
Whether Bing the crooner still will
be around when match play starts
on Wednesday-after the ga low
qualifying scores for So holes have
been posted-is another matter, for
he belongs only to the ordinary, or
garden variety Of golfer. But the
possibilities attached to planting an
attraction like Bing in a golf tourna-
ment have been only too apparent
the last three days.
All Follow Crosby.
The entire field practiced yester-
day, but there was only one gallery.
1t followed Crosby from first tee to
final green, where one of his more
fervent feminine fans stuck out a
foot and prevented Bing's approach
from rolling into a trap.
Marvin (Bud Ward of Spokane,
Wash, the defending champion and
a really fine golfer, shot a So, four
under par, in his final tuneup. Yet
the only reason any one saw him do
it was the fact that he was playing
around with our movie menace.
Crosby, who is rather short off the
tee and stabs with his putter, had a
40 coming back after going out in
80. That adds up 80.
officials of the U. S. G.. A. wish
Crosby more than we'll. They would
love to see him reach the final, be-
cause then they would have to call
out the Marines again to control
the crowd, like they did when Bobby
Jones completed his grand slam" at
Merton.
Atlantis 3oy Amazing.
Unless his game improves radically
from yesterday, Bing is not likely
even to qualify, because this tourna-
ment is full of youngsters who can't
Groom worth cent. but can lat a
golf ball out of sight
For instance, there is 16-year- old
from Atlanta named Gene Dahl
bender who, they swear, hits as long
a tee shot as Jimmy Thompson. the
professional, and who recently set a
course record of 81 on the Druid Hills
course in Atlanta. There was a
l1ny1a q = urr1 rNrido RI r,Nofrl1 t,iy,n
every one of Winged Foot's fairways
and green's today.
Ward is the natural favorite to
win, despite the fact that anything
can happen in the course of the four
18-hole rounds of match play on
Wednesday and Thursday.
In the last couple of years Ward
has proved he can shoot right along
with the professionals, and ne came
within a stroke of tying for the 1899
Open championship.
Competition for Ward.
However. the boy from Spokane
will not lack competition. There
are, besides him, nine former anna
teur champions In the field, going
back to Francis Ouimet, who won
it in 1914 and again in 1881.
Johnny Goodman probably is the
most dangerous of the former cham
pions, though Johnny Fischer and
Willie Turnesa are possibilities. Ray
Billows of Poughkeepsie, runnerup
two OF the last three years, has the
most supporters, next to Ward
Other active threats are MILFORD
Wehrle and Art Doering of Chicago,
Ed Meister of Warrensville, Ohio;
Fred Haas of New Orleans, Tommy
Barnes of Atlanta and Harry Todd
of Dallas.