Evening star., 1948-06-08
Playing Tough Course
Groomed Finnessy
For Upset Victory
By MerreII WhittIesey

Ed Finnessy started playing golf
eight years ago, when he was "a.
He just picked the game up, he said,
but a very important factor is that
he started playing at Mount Pleas
ant. and except for a few tourna-
ments he has played all his golf
there.
Now when the only course you've
known is a rugged, 7,000-yard lay
ont with the biggest green's in the
country, you either learn to play
golf the right way or quit. And by
playing a course like Baltimore's
famous public layout, the others
look comparatively easy.
That's why Finnessy did not seem
nearly as amazed as the rest of the
field and the galleryites when he
posted consecutive mines Of 1854
81 to win the Annapolis Roads Open
with lot score Yesterday. Par is
35. He was two shots over par but
three strokes better than the lowest
pro score. Ffnnessv's best previous
showing was a pair Of Ills in the
MAPGA pro-am championship at
Manor last year.
Huge Greens Reduced.
Like Mount Pleasant, Annapolis
Roads requires exacting golf shots.
Washingtonians who played the lay
out before the war hardly would
recognize 1t now. as the huge greens
have been reduced more than half.
The pros say they like the course
better as it's better test of golf
with the smaller greens. And Of
corrse it still has the huge traps.
The greens are good putting sur
faces, too, as Jerry Hart will attest,
Hart played his home course in
36-38-34 to finish stroke behind
Finnessy at 108. and Jerry one-put-
ted the last seven greens. He also
played the par three holes in
total of three under par.
The nine pros who finished in the
money in the S250-added event
all were within a stroke OF each
other -four at 10 and five at I'D
and each figured how he kicked the
tournament away.
KenWood's George Di1enbaugh
needed four on the 9th hole to tie
Finnessy After 20-minute wait
on the 9th tee due to late after
noon downpour, Diffenbaugh used a
driver, spoon and a five-iron five
times for a juicy seven. By this
time the hole resembled the nearby
Severn River more than it did
golf course. But George was
trif1e careless in playing the hole,
as he admitted later.
BOgley Starts 1882.
Almost everybody was roofing for
Walter Bogley the big-hitter from
Prince Georges The big fellow
with the short backswing and the
powerful wrists started 1892 on
the first nine, and if the National
Open were transferred to Annapolis
Roads tomorrow you could bet your
bottom dollar that Ben Hogan or
nobody else would start three under
on those rugged holes.
But Bogley started wasting shot
here and there and finally finished
with III to tie for second low pro
score. AL Jamison of Quantico fin
ished nicely to tie Diffenbaugh at
110 and they were joined by Andy
Gibson of the G. c. of Maryland and
Walter Romans of Baltimore C. c.
An amateur, Bill Collins of Mount
Pleasant. also had 1l0. The pros
received S85 each, so one of those
little five iron chips cost DifTen-
baugh S35, the difference between
S65 and top money of sl20.
The Ill bracket, five over par,
was we'll populated with Bogley, Al
Houghton, Roger Peacock, Ward
Burgess of Clifton Park and Kenny
Graham OF Roanoke all at that
figure along with DR.. Joseph Ken
rick, Kenwood amateur. Dick Mel
vim of Kenwood completed the
prize winners with liz for fifth
amateur