Evening star., 1950-06-26
16-Under-Par Record
Gives virginian Good
Chance With Demaret
Later Story on Page ALL
By MerreII WhittIesey
Stur St1ff Correspondent

COLUMBUS. Ohio. June 26.-
A photographer walked up te
Chandler Harper after the Ma
tional PGA quarter finals had
been completed yesterday, handed
the Portsmouth, Va, pro a bow
of ice and said, Here, Mr.. Har-
per, let's get a picture of you
cooling off your putter."
Chandler, already besieged by
more reporters. photographers
radio announcers and TV cam
eras than at any time in his life,
was startled. "Are you crazy
man." he said. I've got to treat
that putter like a baby"
Harper was right, because the
duplicate of a putter made by a
blacksmith AZ years ago in Scot
land earned him a semifinals
berth against Jimmy Demaret to-
day in the $500 PGA champion
ship at Scioto. The Virginia shot
maker is only two victories away
from a major title, and after his
superb 1-up triumph over Lloyd
Mangrum yesterday, there's no
reason to believe he can't go all
the way.
Picard Really Hot.
The other semifinal match is
between Henry Williams, jr., a
chubby, lkeable fellow who is pro
at Secane. Pa. and Henry Picard
shuffling veteran who supposedly
hit his peak more than a decade
ago. Picard won this title in 1899.
Johnny Palmer, runnerup to Sam
Snead in last years PGA, would
have you believe Picard hit his
peak yesterday. because Palmer lost
by an almost unbelievable 10 and
8 margin to Picard's 6-under-par
golf.
Demaret had only a corporals
guard for a gallery as he led al
most all the way in beating a fell
low Texan. Ray Gafford, 5 and 4
Williams also bucked few fans in
his 1-up triumph over Dave Doug
las of Wilmington. Del. the fellow
with the bean-pole build. The
Picard-Palmer gallery soon lost
interest after Henry started COM
piling his insurmountable lead.
But there was a gallery of at
least 5000 on hand, sweltering
under 95-degree heat, burning
sun and no breeze. They swarmed
in courteous but vitality interested
fashion after Harper, a dark
horse to most of them, and Man
grum, who in his last three SIS, 200
tournaments has won two and
finished second in the National
Open.
Crowd for Mangrum.
Through no fault of his, Harper
was the second choice of the fans
for the second straight day.
Against 124-pound, 24-year- old
Bob Toski Saturday. the fans
were roofing for the slightly built
youngster, and yesterday most of
them were pulling for Mangrum
to continue his sensational streak.
But Harper is playing unbeat-
able golf. After the match yes
terday in which Harper shot 81
and 68 over Scioto's man-sized,
par 70 layout, Mangrum said,
I've never played in a finer golf
match than that one. I'm seven
under par and get beat"
For his part, Harper said,
That was my best effort"
The wooden-shafted putter has
been Harper's best friend as the
Virginian stands 16 under par for
the tournament, 20 under par in
match play. The same club that
helped him to a PGA record of
20 puts in the Tuscon Open in
February has knocked in a hatful
of 25-footers since Wednesday,
and all the pressure puts.
On the touchy question of when
did he feel the pressure the
greatest. Chandler pushed his
multicolored cap from his balding
head and admitted he was a bit
Shaky on the 14th tee of the
afternoon round. Mangrum had
roared from behind, winning four
of the last eight holes to draw
even. and on the treacherous "a
yard par 3 18th, Lloyd hit pom
derous tee shot that assured him
of a par 8. That" smiled Har-
per. "left me in a tight spot"
Both Go for Brides.
But Harper put his drive on the
green and they halved the hole.
They halved the next two, both
hitting the back of the cup in
birdie attempts on the 10Th, Har-
per with a chip and Mangrum
with a 30-foot putt.
The 17th is a tricky little par 3
with lots of trouble on all sides.
Mangrum hit a great shot IL feet
from the stick, but Harper replied
with one twice that good-only
six feet away. It appeared that
Mangrum was partially stymied,
although Harper said later that
Lloyd had plenty of room to get
past. Mangrum almost made his
deuce. Harper stepped up with
his trusty blade and regained his
lead with birdie two. Mangrum
was not up all day.
On the easy par 5 last hole,
both missed the green in two and
were on in three, Chandler 10 feet
from the cup, Mangrum four feet.
With extra holes in prospect if he
missed, Harper confidently stepped
up to his putt after studying it
from all angles-and tapped it
on the cup for a birdie four. Man
grum, tired, hot and disappointed
over failing again in tournament
that has jinxed him, reached over
/ for hearty handshake.
Harper. at SO. plays in about 40
per cent of the big money tourna-
ments. But he soon will have a
new club in Portsmouth, and this