Evening star., 1955-06-04
Conrad up After 3OHoIes
In Finals Of British Amateur
Slater Rallies
After Streak
OF WiIdness


was Q up on Alan Slater. his
English opponent. after 80 holes
|of their 36-hole match today
for the British Amateur golf
championship.
Conrad, an American Air Force
lieutenant, was 4 up at the end
LOT the mornings 18-hole round
and increased that margin to 5
Iup on the first hole after lunch.
Then Slater suddenly found his
game and slowly pecked away to
cut the Texans big lead to up
after 27 holes.
Then Conrad stopped his slide
and took q 2-up lead on the
29th after a missed putt spoiled
his chance on the 28th. They
halved that hole. Slater was
wild on the 29th. finally picking
lup. They halved the 30th.
From the 9th hole on the
players were playing in a furi-
Gus thunderstorm.
Conrad Goes S Up
Conrad went back to 5 up on
the very first hole of the after
noon round although he trapped
his drive. The goth was halved
when a fine Conrad chip shot
lput the ball down 3 feet from
| the pin. The Briton scored one
of his rare victories on the 21st
and the 22d was halved.'
Slater, who never has won a
major British title, suddenly
steadied and won both the 23d
and oath.
They halved the 25th but
Slater won the 26th and Conrad
was only / up.
They started their day-long
duel for the title no Briton has
won in 20 years in a downpour
of rain and with a cold wind
bowling through the trees. BY
the time they had reached the
ninth, the rain had stopped but
the wind continued.
1t was Conrad who conquered
the weather conditions first. He
halved the first two holes with
his British rival and then grab
bed the next three In a row. 1t
wasn't until the seventh that
Slater, a 36-year-old engineer.
could cut into the margin.
Rain Bothers Slater
At the short par-3 first hole
both missed the green with
drives and took As.
On the 424-yard para Sec
ond, Conrad was on top of a
bunker with his drive. Both
reached the green in 8. Conrad
then two-putted from 80 feet
and Slater took two puts from
IS feet. Both had SIS.
On the third hole Slater's tee
shot was out of bounds. Conrad
played wobbly golf also, but won
with a 6 to his opponents Z.
On the fourth, Slater who ap-
peared to be getting wilder and
wilder in the rain, hit his tee
Ishot $50 feet of the fairway.
Conrad was a little past the
green and Clipped up to win with
a par 4. Slater took a 5.
i HaIve Fifth Hole
At the 188-yard fifth, Conrad
was just on the green with his
drive and got down in two puts.
Slater was short and in the
trough, but the Yorkshire man
pitched on we'll and saved a half
in 3's.
Conrad went to 8 up at the All
yard sixth with a birdie 4 against
Slater's 5.
Slater took the seventh with
Ia par 5. Conrad needed q 8, al
Though he made another beauti-
full 250-yard brassie shot from
the fairway for his second and
landed just in front of the green.
Conrad Hits Rough
They halved the par 4 eighth
in f1ves after Conrad cut his
drive into rough short of the
fairway and was bunkered with
his second.
Slater won the 163-yard ninth
with par 3 after Conrad was
bunkered off the tee and then
J hit across the green with
his second shot into another
bunker.
I Their cards for the first nine:
s:S:.Soss ~ ~ ~ s3s 81 81 ssssR ssssR
i They halved the 10th but
Conrad won the 478-yard 18th
to go 2 up. He kept this ad-
vantage by halving the 18th.
1 Slater Flubs Drive
1 Slater then f1ubbed his drive
on the 18th but gained a halve
with a spectacular second.
Slater lost the 14th when the
: Texan placed his second so feet
from the pin and the Briton
missed a l5-foot tap. On the
18th Slater lost again. This time
he drove into the rough and then
'|sent his second into a trap. Con-
rad had an easy par 4.
Slater again had trouble of
the l7th and Conrad won to go
Is up. margin that was, cut to 4
when the Texan sent his drive
into a trap and lost the 18th.
Cards for second nine ~. "a .,
gGaas1ai1n gisasi@Ia ~ ttsss tss tttt sst.ss-2sS-s5 st.s-2S-s5
| Conrad and Slater are the sur
vivors of field Of 240 golfers
who began the nerve-jangling
search for this title last Monday.
Conrad, the first Texan ever
to reach the final round Of this
famous tournament, has a sore
finger on his right hand that has