Evening star., 1962-09-22
Harris Playing
Gray in Finals
OF Amateur
By ROBERT SOMAEERS
Star staff Writer

PINEHURST, N. c.. Sept. a..
-Labron Harris. q 20-year-old
Oklahoman from saltwater.
who before this year never
won o match in the National
Amateur, meets Downing Gray,
24-year-old insurance sales
man from Warrington, Fla,
who never even entered before,
for the championship at Pine
hurst Country Club today. For
mer President Eisenhower was
expected to be q spectator.
It must rank as one Of the
most unusual amateur finals
of all time. Usually the winner
is someone who has made pre-
vious Showings Of some merit,
but not this time.
And If anybody else is worried
about it, certainly Harris and
Gray aren't.
BY this time nothing should
bother Harris, who defeated
Billy Joe Patton Of Morganton,
N. c., 3 and /, yesterday and
thus knocked off his fifth tough
opponent.
StumbleS In VictOry
Gray has not faced as many
well known players, but every
body who came here is tough.
Yesterday Gray eliminated
Charley Coody, q hulking Air
Force lieutenant from Fort
Worth, Tex, 3 and 2, after
watching Q 7-up lead almost
disappear.
Both went into the final with
the same philosophy-you've
got to be lucky to win. Harris
said yesterday that he's played
well in only one match, when
he eliminated Ed Hopkins Of
Abilene. Tex, 5 and 4.
He wouldn't even term as
adequate his round against
Patton yesterday. 1T got the
job DONE" he said, But I
wouldn't say it was adequate"
He was six over par for the
IS holes Of the match, including
q triple bogey eight on the
fourth hole Of the morning
round.
For the 1873 holes he's played
In seven matches, Harris, the
son Of the Oklahoma State golf
coach, Is is over par.
BY contrast, Gray. whose only
claim to fame Is low amateur
in the Pensacola Open twice, Is
~ over par for the same num-,
ber Of holes. But this is no
indication of what could hap
pen in match play.
Coody took the best record
into the semifinals. He was
only four over par for "a holes,
while Gray was II over. Yet
Gray beat him handily.
Even when Gray started to
lose holes he said he wasn't
worried.
1T didn't think he was going
to beat me-" he said. II guess
I started to relax a little-un-
intentionally-when I got seven
up. but I never really worried.
If / had missed that putt on Is,
though, I might have started to
think about It,"
Gray was seven up after seven
holes in the afternoon, but then
Coody rallied. won the next
three, halved one. lost another,
then won two more. Both were
on the green of the 206-yard
par three 18th but Gray'S putt
stopped about four feet short
while Coody was up close.
But Gray, using an old blade
putter with a bent hickory
shaft, rolled the putt in and
was dormie three. He got q par
five on the 18th without ever
seeing the fairway and ended
the match.
Patton Applies SOrcery
Patton looked obviously tired.
although he said later he
wasn't. Two down with six to
60, he played q marvellous iron
shot to eight feet from the
hole on the 18th and needed the
birdie to get back in the match.
He looked as If he was calling
on sorcery when he went to his
golf bag, took out another pair
of glasses, put on q floppy rain
hat he's worn all week, then
rolled the putt home for a win.
Patton got a real break
when Harris hooked his tee
shot into the woods on the 14th
after Billy Joe's tee shot landed
in the rough.
Attempting to get out. Harris
hit q tree, but the ball caromed
onto the fairway. Patton then
hit an iron over the green and
Harris got on. Then Billy Joe
looked as If he was through. He
hit q terribly poor pitch that
left him 10 feet fom the hole.
Billy Joe Flubs
II thought then that 1t
would break his heart II he
missed" Harris said later. But
Patton made it and now was
even with four to play.
But 1t all ended when he at
tempted to hit a low three iron
onto the 18th green. He half
topped the shot and it stopped
about 20 yards short of the
green In the rough. Patton
bogied and went went one down
They halved the 18th and
when Billy Joe needed three to
get on the green of the 1877
yard 17th 1t was over.