The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-05-25
NELSON, HOGAN AND SNEAD PGA
 TOURNEY PICKS
Hagen Also One of Color full Competitors in Crack
 Field
BY OSCAR FRALEY naAA.H TApmm1 eSA~Ra l-.A

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 Atlantic City, N. J., May 25.- (UP)-The PGA'S Silver Anniver- sary Tournament--posslbly the last for the duration opened at Sea- view Country Club today with & field of more than 100 sharpshooters prize.
 Starting with IS holes of medal play today and another l holes to- morrow, the group of crack pros will complete for g match play places. Then the field will be laalved daily in man-to-man play until only two are lfet for Sundays fin- ale.
 Top-heavy favorites on a take. your-choice basis were Byron Nell son, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, leading money winners of the Wir- ter season. Little Ben was a hunch players selection. He had a sore wrist--just as Craig Wood had a sore back when he won the National open last year.
 Nelson, who won the National open in 1899 and took the PGA title In 1940, was dethroned last year by Vic Ghezzi in a 30-hole final at Cherry Hills, Denver, Colo. Ghezzi, now 8 corporal at Fort Monmouth, N. J., will defend his title and has demonstrated that he will be no push-over by carding a practice round of 67--five under par--on this 6,750-yard course.
 Out To Win
 Hogan and Snead, the hsmmre- ing Hill-Billy with the syrupy swing, both will be shooting the works, for neither has won this championship or the open. snead has an additional incentive other than the winners $2,000 share of the $7y550 purse. He will be inducted into the navy immediately after the tournament.
 An added attraction for the gal- lery at this tournament proceeds of which go to army and navy re- lief--is the return to competition of Walter Hagen. The genial vet erar, who stepped down in 1940, won this event five times when he was dominating the nations fair ways two decades ago. The Haig, now nearing 50, has little hope of winning but hopes to make it inc teresting for some of these young Sters."
 Counting Hagen, Nelson and Ghezzi there are nine former champions in the tournament. They include Gene Sarazen, the East Brookfield, Conn.,, squire who first won in 1922 at the age of 20 and then repeated in 1923 and 1883; two-time winners Leo Diegel, Denny Shute and Paul Runyan: and Tom Creavy and Johnny Revolta.
 Ted Smith of Bernardsville, N. J., will be the first man off at e:30 a. rn., on the 3,399-yard ocean-front line. Threesomes will follow at seven-minute intervales until the last trio--which includes Snead-- starts at 2:02 p. m.
 Thorough Test
 This course, although not parti- cularly long, was expected to give the boys some trouble because of the two different types of play which it demands. The front nine, built along the Atlantic seashore, calls for a knowledge of variable winds. The 3,351-yard back nine, cut through the heart of 6 dense pine woods, has needle-like exits from the tees and narrow, tree-guarded fair l ways to catch fading shots.
 But the boys found the range and gave par an unmerciful belting in | final practice rounds yesterday. Ky l L,affoon, Miami, Okla, set the pace { with @ 32-32-64, two strokes over | the course record. Ghezzi, refuting l with action thoughts that army life might have hurt his game, carded | 8 67 and a 6S on the par 72 course. Horton Smith shot 8 67 and Snead and Sam Byrd, former New York Yankee outfielder, had 69's.
 Sarazen and Wood notched 70's and Jimmy Demaret had a 72. Most of the others didn't post scores, playing optional balls in an effort to take out the kinks.