Evening star., 1955-06-13
Victory Here
Big Boost 10
Furgo| for Open
PIoyoff for Title
Overshudows Team
PIoy at Columbia
By MERRELL WHITTLESEY

10y N1GAN1GAAA w AAA - - ASASSA@A
John Jay Hopkins founded the
International Golf Champion
ships primarily for team COM
petition between nations, but
after three years Of the tourna-
ment the interest obviously has
shifted to the individual play
Hopkins apparently realizes this,
and may split the Canada Cup
competition for teams and In
ternational Trophy play for indi-
viduals in the future.
There was only ho-hum re-
sponse to the fact that the
United States team of Ed Furgol
and Chick Harbert won the Can
ada Cup at Columbia Country
Club yesterday. but there was
genuine excitement over the in
dividual title race which Furgol
won on the third hole Of q sud-
den-death playoff.
After all. the United Nations
couldn't have picked a more ap-
propriate finish. Furgol, the
United States Open champion;
Peter Thomson, the British
Open champion, and Belgium's
Flory van Donck, who lolds
more titles than any player in
Europe. tied after 72 holes. They
were one under par at Columbia
with 279s.
Big Boost for FurgOl
FurgoPs tremendous comeback
and Harbert's surprising consist
ency throughout gave the United
States the team title by nine
strokes over the defending cham.
Ipions from Australia, Thomson
and Kel Nagle. Scotland, whose
players never were better thar
10 nor worse than 73, finished
third in the Canada Cup, II
strokes back.
1t was Furgol, an intense fel-
low with a lame arm but a big
heart. who came back to take
the play from Thomson and
from the lesser-known foreign
| players, who actually had beer
the big surprises of the week
with their exceptional golf.
Furgol hardly was in the mood
to make a successful defense oi
his National Open title this week
when he came to Columbia fol
the international matches. But
Ed obviously was in a better
mood when he left last night
for San Francisco. He had COL
Ilected $3.50 in prize money plus
a $500 guarantee. and he was
richer in other ways than money
Golf is an inspirationaI
game" Ed was saying last night
as he stuffed shoes. balls. etc.
into his new red, white and blue
matching golf and shag-bal
bags. "You have to be inspired
to win and you never know wher
it's going to hit you"
I 40-Foot Putt Helps
The inspiration to win the In.
Iternational Cup hit Furgol or
the 10th hole yesterday after.
noon. He rammed an uphill 40
foot putt into the back of the
cup and it stayed there for q
birdie three. At the time he was
five strokes back of Thomson
but word had begun to drift back
that the Australian had started
to slip.
! Furgol and Harbert both ap.
Ipeared primarily concerned witt
their team standing, but they
ran so far ahead in this that
IFurgol could afford to concen.
Itrate on the individual play
Harbert lost a stroke here anC
there and finally trailed Furgol
Van Donck. who was playing
with the Americans, stayed close
all the way.
/ Furgol left for the Open with
greatly increased confidence. Hi
was dissatisfied with his tee-to.
green game earlier in the week
but it was the long shots that
kept him In contention after thai
40-foot putt supplied the spark.
I For Thomson, it was another
in a series of disappointments ir
his American tours. He has beer
playing the PGA circuit off ant
on for several seasons but still
, never has won. He left toda,
for England and several week,
of practice before the British
Open. He will have to be sharE
See GOLF, Page Al
MAJOR LEAGl