Evening star., 1942-08-30
Season Meet Marks
Establish Pair as.
Links Leaders
Ratings as Runners-up
Given Roy sweorineen,
Mrs. Leo WoIper
BY WALTER McCALLUM.

Preview of the 1912 rankings OF
the amateur golfers around WASH
ington, with more than half the
season gone, and only a few more
Journeys to be played for both man
and woman club Swingers.
Men-No. /. Claude Rippy: No, 2,
Ray Swearingen. And you cannot
60 farther than that because there
hasn't been enough competition to
Justify carrying it farther.
Women-No. /. Mrs. Walter r.
Stokes; No. 2, Mrs. Leo Walper;
No. 8, Mrs. Thomas o. Brandon;
No. 4, Mrs. Betty P. Meckley.
Among the men there cannot be
much question as to the top man
this year. Outside of the pro-
amateur affairs, there has been
little competitive action among the
simon pures. The Chevy Chase
tournament was called off, all Bal
timore affairs were cancelled and
few local golfers played in the
Maryland amateur championship.
Rippy won the only big tourna-
ment around town-the Middle At
lantic-in such convincing fashion
that no amount of argument could
put him anywhere but in the No. /
spot. Swearingen. runner up to Rip
by, won his way to the final in
the biggest tourney of the year and
has consistently shown his class in
friendly rounds at Columbia.
District Tourney Coming Up.
But the District amateur cham
pionship is coming up at Congress
sional three weeks hence. Some
gent now unranked can take the
play away from Rippy and Swear
ingen in that one, although it's
unlikely any one is going to whip
'Scar Face" at Congressional. Rip
py has been whipping the ball
around Washington in very low
figures for weeks and he isn't likely
to stop suddenly because the Dis
trict championship is coming up.
This same District tourney, by
the way, has eluded Rippy. He
hasn't even come close to winning
it, although the guy has been a
very good linksman for eight or
nine years now.
On the lawns of country clubs, in
the locker rooms and elsewhere, we
can hear the arguments about the
probable ranking of the women this
year. The gals are not always al
together honest with the business of
facing the facts in their estimates
OF their linkswomen pals. They are
swayed by personalities and forget
the record. At least, they have been
In past years.
Yet on the record, as it stands to
date, no one could dispute the right
OF Virginia Stokes at the top. She
has won the District and Maryland
championships and dropped the
Middle Atlantic by a single hole to
q competitor who played a first-class
game Of match play golf to win.
Virginia Stokes is the outstanding
linkswoman of the year to date,
without any argument. But don't
let it get you down, girls. Some one
will find a way to talk otherwise, for
Virginia isn't going to play in the
coming Maryland medal play cham
pionship. Nor is Mrs. Davy, who
won 1t last year.
Mrs. Walper Scrappy Golfer.
Marie Walper rates the No. 2
spot on any ones ranking list if
only because she won the mid
Atlantic. But the gal with the funny
hats also won the medal in the Dis
trict championship. Her stand to
win an upset victory over Mrs.
stokes in the mid-Atlantic was lust
what you would expect OF a scrappy
little competitor such as Marie
Walper. She was licked at the 18th.
she won two holes in a row. largely
because OF Mrs. Stokes carelessness.
and then Marie started fighting.
How well she fought is testified by
the fact that she won.
Mrs. Brandon won her way to the
fnal in the District championship
and has played consistently well in
other tournaments.
Betty Meckley has been disap-
pointing this year. OveN stretch
OF nearly IS years the Kenwood
veteran has been the steadiest links
woman around Washington. She
mas won every title there is, all of
them more than once. Yet this year
she hasn't come close. For the first
TIME since she came here from
schenectady around IA years ago
she hasn't reached a final round in
a match-play tourney. 1t breaks all
previous records for the most con-
slstent woman of them all.
George Diffenbaugh SAYS Petty
nasnt been putting we'll If that's
the reason it is serious. for the
strongest part of Betty's game has
oeen her putting, together with a
deadly chip shot.
30 there Is the preyiew. There
Ism much chance the TOP rankings
VIII be disturbed, but there's plenty
OF room lower down for d1e boys and
girls. Take EN- apart and pick EN-
10 pieces. But remember they stand
on the record so far this wear and
you cannot go behind the facts.
Walsh Cleaning Up