Evening star., 1941-06-07
Demaret Amonq
Withdrawals as
4 Tie for Lead
Conditions in Second
Round Worst They've
Faced, Soy Pros
By WILLIAM T. RIVES,.
Associated Press Sports Writer

FORT WORTH, Tex, June T.
Sixty-six weather-sick players. sur
vivors of the worst assault of rain
and mud the National open golf
championship has seen, crossed their
fingers and barged into the grueling
36-hole finale today.
In the van were Clayton Heafner,
Denny Shute, Lawson Little, the de-
Tending champion. and Craig Wood,
wearing a polo belt to support his
lame back.
They were jammed together at
l44, and Johnny Morris had chance
to share the early lead Johnny.
member of the last threesome to tee
off yesterday, stopped at the end OF
Is holes at dusk.
He was allowed to complete the
round early today, and needed to
negotiate the three holes in par to
| tie with the leaders.
Ten other players were in the
wide open dash to the finish line.
Holding las were Paul Runyan and
Dick Metz; a stroke behind were
Johnny Bulla, Henry Ransom Of
Forth Worth, Sammy Snead, jug
McSpaden, Herman Barron and
Byron Nelson. and at TAT were Gene
Sarazen and Lloyd Mangrum.
Squawk Against U. S. G. A.
Still heard around the first tee
were echoes of complaints over the
United States Golf Associations
orders of yesterday to continue play
despite a torrent of rain.
Many of the professionals. Injured
to unfavorable weather conditions,
said they never had played round
in a more trying situation.
The U. S. G. A. interrupted play
twice but held firm to its 46-year-
old tradition that the National Open
must be played on schedule. through
fair weather or foul. A few players
quit after battling green's covered
with water. hacking around in the
moisture-soaked rough and quaking
under lightning flashes
Byron Nelson. who carved out
fine 73 despite the weather, said the
course was the most unplayable I've
ever SEEN" and Tommy Armour said
he never had played under such con-
ditions. McSpaden described the
general situation as brutal, and jim
my Demaret did repeat of his act
of last year by Withdrawing.
One person who wasn't complain
ing was young Johnny Morris. who
was as surprised as any one to find
his name among the leaders.
Morris. Tuscaloosa (Ala) profess
sional who had to participate in a
playoff to qualify sectionally, almost
deserted the tournament on opening
day.
Wife Orders Him TO Stick.
II was five over par for the first
five holes" he grinned, and told
my wife might as we'll give up and
go back to the clubhouse. She told
me, oh, no, you don't so I stayed
in"
Johnny finished that round with a
72. and yesterday he bore through
the rain two over par for Is holes.
Sam Snead. the West Virginia
slammer, had yesterdays greatest
round, a par 10, before the weather
delivered its greatest damage to the
Colonial Club course, but his 36-hole
total of l46 was two strokes off the
leaders.
Heafner matched his opening day
u to record his l44 Wood had a
H. Denny Shute a rs, and Cham
pion Little a II.
Going into the final rounds, the
Colonial Course held a record Of
having given up one sub-par round
Shute's flrst-day 69-and three par
70s. Due to yesterdays skyrocketing
scores, it looked as if the winner
would come in with about 285. ex-
actly the score most of the top pros
were predicting before all the shoot
ing started.