Evening star., 1948-05-02

over par on the 18th and 18th
while Alexander blazed to 68. For
two years now in this tournament
the North Carolinian has yet to be
out of the Sos.
1t may not be a two-man show
today, however. In third place at
206 - three shots behind the Lead
ers-is one of the most feared play
ers in the history of the game, Ben
Hogan, who went over par on the
last hole and still showed So. Hogan
was trapped in two on the 18th,
left it there on his first wedge shot,
then almost Clipped into the cup.
Cary Middleton, who spent an
obviously uncomfortable afternoon
shooting a par 72-topped off by
three puts on the 18th-is five shots
back at 20s and needs a miracle
round to move into contention.
Otherwise, the remainder of the
field is interested only in the 25
money places and not the title.
Alexander Opens With Eagle.
The gallery of $500 was evenly
divided between the Alexander and
Locke threeSomes yesterday and
when afternoon showers and sud-
den drop in temperature made it
miserable for the galleryites, they
stuck it out and finished the day
by watching the clinic in down.
pour of rain.
From the minute the 220-pound
leaned into his first shot
the one-man show was over and it
was Locke and Alexander down the
stretch. On the 3l5-yard par 4
first hole, Skip hit a beauty that
headed for the green.
The gallery around the first tee
gave polite applause for the ponder
GUS drive, but those around the green
waxed with enthusiasm. AS Alexan-
der's tee shot rolled onto the carpet
a shout arose and when the ball
headed for the cup, possible hole
in one, the crowd gave out with a
mighty roar. The ball was within
inches of the pin when it veered of
and settled 18 inches past. AleXan-
der stepped up and tapped it into
the cup for an eagle 2.
Skip Finishes With IL Pars.
Skip came back with a 10-footer
for a birdie on the second and his
birdie on the par fourth came easy
He was under par at that point be-
fore Locke started and Bobby knew
he was in for a scrap before he
began his round.
For the last IA holes, Alexander
struggled to retain his 4-under- pal
standing. He sprayed a few tee
shots, scrambled for some pars
but after a bogey on the fifth ano
a birdie on the sixth, he posted
IL consecutive pars for his So.
Locke played one of his never
miss hit-and=run shots for birdie
on the second and pared the other
eight holes on the front nine fol
a IS. He wasn't playing the 65-6e
brand of golf of the first two days
and while the pars came easy the
brides we're tough.
1t was par-par for Locke on 1C
and II and then. after 48 holes
without going over par, the string
ran out.
Bobby missed the 18th green with
his second shot and when he stepped
up to his approach he found the
ball settled in a bad lie. He was
lucky to get down in 5, he said, and
on the 18th it was the same story
A slightly pulled second, an atrocious
lie, and scrambled bogey S.
Manxrum in Eighth Place.
For the first time in the tourna-
ment, Locke was about to stray
from the fairway from the tee-on
the 18th hole-when he received an
unexpected assist. The ball hit a
spectator and his erring tee shot
bounded back into the fairway. He
pared that hole and the next three
for his par 72
The fourth best scores were nine
strokes back of the co-leaders. Skee
Kiegel, the national champion who
was playing the most consistent golf
of the tournament, 7l-70-70-was
at 2l2 along with George Fazio. the
ex-Canadian Open champion, and
Jimmy Demaret, the fashion plate,
who was attired in clashing yell
low, blue and green outfit. Demaret
played . careless outgoing nine of
80, then came back in 50 for his 70.
Defending Champion Lloyd Man.
grum was along in eighth place at