1942: Golf

During the past year golf felt the effect of the war more than any other major sport. Rubber conservation, gasoline rationing, and the drafting of manpower tended to reduce the amount of play by the average duffer and by the game's top club swingers. Less than a month after Pearl Harbor the United States Golf Association stringently curtailed its competitive program, and this lead was followed by most sectional, state and district golf organizations. As a result, only one regular major United States title was contested, that being the Professional Golfers' Association Championship which was held at the Absecon Country Club, Atlantic City, N. J.

This championship was won by Sam Snead of Hot Springs, Va. on the eve of his induction into the Navy. Snead overcame a three-hole deficit and won the final match against the Army's Corporal Jimmy Turnesa, Fairview, N. Y. On the penultimate hole of their 36-hole match, Snead sank a 60-ft. chip shot for a deuce to win. Corporal Turnesa, one of the famous golfing family, was the surprise of the tourney, eliminating the two favorites, Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson.

Hogan, however, did win one of the year's other big events when he took the Hale America tournament, sponsored by the U.S.G.A. instead of its annual open championship. In medal play at the Ridgemoor Country Club near Chicago, Hogan turned in a four round card of 271 to defeat Jimmy Demaret of Texas by three strokes. Another Turnesa, Mike, tied Demaret for second place with 274. The proceeds of more than $20,000 were turned over to the Navy Relief Society and the United Service Organizations.

The Masters' Tournament at the Augusta Country Club, Augusta, Ga. was won by the former Open and P.G.A. titleholder, Byron Nelson. Craig Wood of the Winged Foot Club, N. Y., last year's winner of the U. S. Open and Masters' crowns, captured the only major championship contested outside the United States. Wood won the Canadian Open. Other important tourney winners were: Marvin Ward, Spokane, Wash. (All-America Amateur); Ellis Knowles, Apawamis, N. Y. (U. S. Seniors); Frank Tatum, Jr., Stanford University (National Intercollegiate); Louisiana State and Stanford (tied for National Intercollegiate team title); Byron Nelson, Toledo, O. (Tam O'Shanter Open).

There were no national women's tournaments held, but the leading lady amateurs were Betty Jameson of San Antonio, Tex., the 1941 champion; Mrs. R. M. Toggerson, Lakeville, N. Y. who won the Metropolitan title; Miss Grace Amory, Cedar Creek, N. Y., winner of the New York State championship; Miss Maureen Orcutt, White Beeches, N. J., holder of the New Jersey State title; Mrs. Estelle Lawson Page of Chapel Hill, N. C., former national champion; and Dorothy Kirby, Atlanta, Ga.

Although the U.S.G.A. cancelled its regular championships, it made many important contributions to the war effort. Besides raising funds for the Red Cross and other relief organizations, the Association provided equipment for soldiers at camps throughout the country. The P.G.A., which has abandoned its annual winter tour of the South and West Coast, has also arranged hundreds of charity exhibition matches among its members. A series of matches featuring actors Bing Crosby and Bob Hope netted a huge sum for the USO.

During the year, government regulations clamped down on the further production of steel shafts for golf clubs, and the use of crude rubber in the making of golf balls. A nationwide campaign to collect old balls for salvaging was carried out, thereby insuring the limited manufacture of reclaimed pellets. Most golf equipment manufacturers converted their machinery, in part at least, to the production of war materials.

At the end of 1942 many golf clubs were planning to close for the duration, due to loss of members, inability to maintain grounds, and higher taxation. Already some of the larger and more prominent clubs have been taken over by the Army and the Navy. Lido and St. Albans on Long Island and White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., are establishments now being used by the armed forces for the duration, and many more clubs will undoubtedly be enlisted in the coming year.

1941: Golf

Despite the spread of the war, golf enjoyed a highly successful year. Tournament players and duffers alike set an excellent example for all sportsmen by participating in a great number of benefit matches and tag days for the Red Cross, British War Relief and other deserving organizations. Such activity was climaxed by a match between the official United States Ryder Cup Team and a group captained by former amateur champion Bobby Jones. This match, held at the Detroit Golf Club in late August, raised $25,000 for the United Service Organizations. Jones, coming out of retirement to play, won his match against Henry Picard, a prominent pro, and his team defeated the Ryder Cup men, 8 to 6.

Long controversy over standardization was settled when the United States Golf Association ruled to limit the distance-carrying feature of golf balls. After years of study and experimentation by scientists of the Armour Research Foundation at the Illinois Institute of Technology, it was agreed to limit the velocity of the ball at 250 feet per second. This regulation eliminated the threat of obsolescence which threatened courses because of the development in recent years of far-traveling golf balls.

After the United States entered the war, the government proclaimed a ban on the use of rubber in golf and tennis balls causing a tremendous rush by golfers to stock up. Equipment manufacturers were preparing to produce an ersatz ball.

Again this year, all major British and European tournaments were not held, and all international team matches were cancelled. Several British and South American stars entered American tournaments, and Sam Snead and Jimmy Demaret embarked on a very successful tour of South America where interest in golf is growing steadily. Demaret won the Argentine Open Championship with a record breaking 72-hole score of 279. Sam Snead, Hot Springs, Va., professional, captured several other major South American titles. He also won the Canadian Open Championship. Wilford Wehrle of Racine, Wis., won the Mexican Amateur title, beating Spec Stewart of Roswell, N. M., 2 and 1 in the 36-hole final.

Interest in competitive golf in this country was spread by the holding of the United States Open Championship in Fort Worth, the first time in history that the Southwest had been the site of this tournament.

Craig Wood, 39-year-old professional at the Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, N. Y., became the first golfer to win the Masters' and the United States Open titles in the same year. His total of 287 won the Open at Fort Worth, Texas, before the largest gallery in the last decade. A dark horse garnered the Professional Golfers' Association Championship at Denver when Victor Ghezzi defeated Byron Nelson, the defending champion, in the final match. Ben Hogan, pro from Hershey, Pa., finished consistently in the money throughout the year, leading all other professionals as a money winner and gaining possession of the Vardon Trophy, symbolizing the superiority of his all-around record.

In the amateur ranks, the National Championship was again won by Marvin Ward of Spokane, Wash., the 1939 titleholder. He eliminated B. Patrick Abbott, Pasadena, Calif., by 4 and 3 in the 36-hole final match held in Omaha, Neb. Stewart M. Alexander, Burlington, N. C., was medalist with a low of 144. At the Country Club in Brookline, Mass., Mrs. Frank Newell of Long Beach, Calif., ended the two-year reign of Betty Jameson by winning the United States Women's Championship. Mrs. Newell, who defeated Helen Sigel, Philadelphia, Pa., by 5 and 3, later turned professional.

Other national titles went to William Welch, Houston, Tex. (U.S. Public Links); Alvah H. Pierce, Brookline, Mass. (U.S. Seniors); Stanford University (Intercollegiate team); Earl Stewart, Louisiana State (Intercollegiate); Eleanor Dudley, Alabama U. (Women's Intercollegiate); and Mrs. Edward B. Stevens, Round Hill, Conn. (U.S. Seniors-Women).

The Professional Golfers' Association elected Ed Dudley, Colorado Springs, Col., as its first playing-pro President. Fred Corcoran was reappointed Tournament Manager. The P.G.A. also elected a Ryder Cup Team for 1942, consisting of Craig Wood, captain, Jimmy Demaret, Vic Ghezzi, Ben Hogan, Lloyd Mangrum, Byron Nelson, Horton Smith, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead and Harold McSpaden. In addition, a special nominating committee approved four more golfers for the Hall of Fame initiated last year when Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Walter Hagen and Francis Ouimet were chosen. Those added to the honor roll this year are Jerome D. Travers, John McDermott, Alex Smith, Charles Evans and Willie Anderson. Smith and Anderson are the first foreign stars to be selected.

The United States Golf Association elected George W. Blossom, a member of the Onwentsia Club, Lake Forest, Ill., as president; Morton G. Bogue and Charles W. Littlefield as vice-presidents; Frank M. Hardt as secretary; John F. Riddell, Jr. as treasurer; and James H. Douglas, Jr., as General Counsel.

Attendance figures at major tournaments reached a new high, and the professionals played for more money than ever before. Many leading amateurs and pros joined the nation's armed forces during the year including Marvin Ward, Dick Chapman, Ed Oliver, Frank Strafaci, Tommy Tailer and Stewart Alexander. At dozens of army posts golf instruction was made a part of the sports and recreation programs, and many private clubs allowed officers and enlisted men the use of their courses for the duration.

1940: Golf

Although international competition was dormant in 1940, major tournament activity in this country was keener than ever, resulting in record-breaking sub-par scores throughout the season. In 1940 new champions were crowned in every important classification except that of the women amateurs. Tournament galleries, in general, were larger, and the game was increasingly popular among public links players and women.

During the winter and early spring, greater spectator interest and larger purses marked the annual tour of the professionals through the South. Stars of this circuit were Jimmy Demaret, Houston. Tex., winner of six tournaments, and Ben Hogan, 140-lb. White Plains. N. Y., pro who captured four. For the entire year Hogan was the leading professional money winner, garnering $10,655 in prizes. His average score for 71 rounds of competitive golf was 70.03. This consistency helped him win the Harry Vardon Trophy for 1940, emblematic of professional golfing supremacy over the course of the year's play. Hogan had 423 points. Sam Snead was second with 393 points, Byron Nelson third with 337 and Jimmy Demaret fourth with 292. A new low scoring mark was set by Craig Wood, professional at the Winged Foot Golf Club, during the Metropolitan Open Championship at the Forest Hills Field Club of New Jersey. Wood's four rounds were 64-66-68-66 to give him a winning total of 264. This is considered the lowest score ever made in tournament play on a regulation course.

Most important tournament plum of the year was taken by W. Lawson Little of Bretton Woods, N. H., when he won the United States Open Championship at the Canterbury Course in Cleveland by defeating the veteran Gene Sarazen, Brookfield Center, Conn., in a dramatic playoff. Little, who was U.S. and British amateur titleholder in 1934-35, tied with Sarazen and Edward 'Porky' Oliver of Hornell, N. Y., at 287. Oliver, however, was disqualified for starting his final round too soon. This act provoked a major controversy among golf writers and fans, but the United States Golf Association did not change its decision.

At Hershey, Pa., early in September, Byron Nelson of Toledo, Ohio, succeeded Henry Picard, the home pro, as P.G.A. champion, when he defeated Sam Snead 1 up in a brilliant final match. Picard was eliminated by Sarazen in a quarter-final match. Later in the same month Richard D. Chapman of New York, playing over his home course at the Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N. Y., won the National Amateur Championship by defeating W. B. 'Duff' MeCullough, Philadelphia business man golfer, 11 and 9 in the 36 hole final. This was one of the largest margins of victory ever recorded in the history of the tournament. In the semi-finals, Chapman eliminated Wilford Wehrle, Racine, Wisc., after being five down at the turn. McCullough beat Ray Billows, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in his semi-final match. Billows had previously put out the 1939 champion, Marvin 'Bud' Ward of Spokane. Chapman was also the medal winner.

The only 1939 champion to repeat was Betty Jameson, a 21-year-old from San Antonio, Texas. She defeated Jane Cothran, Greenville, S. C., by a score of 6 and 5 in the final of the Women's National Championship which was held at the Pebble Beach Course in California late in September. Before the tournament women's golf lost one of its top-ranking players when Patty Berg, Minneapolis, Minn., turned professional. Miss Berg was engaged by a large sporting goods house to promote golf among the high schools and colleges. By joining the women's pro ranks, Miss Berg gave further impetus to the growth of 'open' championships for women patterned after the events held for men. In 1940 several territories held open tournaments with satisfactory results, Already in the pro ranks are such outstanding female golfers as Helen Hicks, Helen Dettweiler, and Mrs. George Zaharias, the former Olympic star Babe Didrickson.

Other important champions crowned in 1940 were Dixon Brooke, University of Virginia, as National Intercollegiate titleholder, with Princeton and Louisiana State tying for the team championship; Charles H. Jennings as United States Senior Champion; Robert Clark, St. Paul, Minn., as United States Public Links Champion; and Sam Snead, Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pa., as Canadian Open winner.

At its annual meeting, the United States Golf Association made the following rule changes: it further defined the requirements the linings (cups); it penalized players for testing the surface of greens preparatory to putting; it amended the definitions of professional and amateur golfers by uniformly fixing the eighteenth birthday as the time limit for excusing prior violations and providing that one who becomes automatically reinstated to amateur standing prior to his eighteenth birthday may not again be reinstated; and it changed directions for computing par by stating that 'each hole should be measured from the middle of the tee to the center of the green, following the general plan of the hole.'

The U.S.G.A. also reelected Harold Pierce of Boston, Mass., as president. The P.G.A. retained Thomas Walsh of Chicago as president, and reappointed Fred Corcoran as tournament manager. Opposition to the U.S.G.A. came from the Pacific Coast where the American Golf Association was formed as 'a national non-profit organization devoted wholly to the proper development of the game and the maintenance of player interest; to the preservation of golf's best traditions; to emphasize its worth as a community recreational activity and to streamline the game in accord with its inherent principles of democracy.' Fred O'Bannon was elected first president. Over sixty clubs affiliated with the A.G.A., which is making plans for several important events including a team match between the United States and Mexico.

Because of the war, matches scheduled between the Ryder, Walker and Curtis Cup teams of the United States and Great Britain were cancelled. However the P.G.A. appointed a Ryder Cup team captained by Walter Hagen which played a Red Cross charity match against a selected team of professionals led by Gene Sarazen. The Ryder Cup team won in a close match. This event raised $15,000, and Bobby Jones, coming out of retirement to play four Red Cross four-ball matches, helped to raise $6,000. Altogether over $50,000 was contributed by the P.G.A. as a result of such charity matches.

In Canada all national tournaments were cancelled except the Open Championship. In England many of the golfers not in active service played exhibition matches for the benefit of war relief funds and no tournaments were held.

1939: Golf

Golf during 1939 was featured by the dominance in tournament play of a small group of players. Among the men, Byron Nelson of Reading, Pa., Henry Picard of Hershey, Pa., and Marvin Ward of Spokane, Wash., showed the way. In the case of feminine golfers, Patty Berg of Minneapolis, Minn., last year's national champion, won most of the important tournaments until forced out of competition by an appendectomy. Betty Jameson of San Antonio, Tex., always among the leaders, went on to win the other major honors.

In an extremely dramatic finish Byron Nelson fired a sub-par 68 on the last round to tie with Craig Wood, Mamaroneck, N. Y., and Dennismore Shute, Huntington, W. Va., at 284 strokes after 72 grueling holes in the National Open Championship staged at the Philadelphia Country Club, Philadelphia, Pa. Samuel Snead, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., was leading the field by a wide margin up to the final hole, but a disastrous last hole blow-up in which he took an 8 ruined his chances. Marvin Ward, former Walker Cup player, finished only one stroke behind to lead the amateur contingent.

In the first play-off, Nelson and Wood were 4 under par with 68's, eliminating Shute. The following day a second play-off was held, and Nelson took undisputed possession of the championship by shooting a sparkling 70.

Just a month later the professionals met at the Pomonok Country Club, Flushing, L. I., to decide the Professional Golfers Association National match-play championship. Nelson, the new open champion, played inspired golf and fought his way to the finals only to be beaten by Henry Picard, 1 up on the 37th hole. Semi-finalists were Richard Metz of Chicago and E. J. Harrison of Oak Park, Ill.

Because of a conflict with the P.G.A. championship, many leading American golfers failed to try for the British Open Championship. This event was held at St. Andrews, and it was won by Richard Burton, professional of Cheshire, England with a total score of 290. Runner-up and chief American threat was John Bulla, Chicago professional, who finished with a 292. The favorite, Robert Locke of South Africa, took 296, and England's Ryder Cup Captain, Henry Cotton, had a 298. Lawson Little of Bretton Woods, N. H., former British Amateur champion, failed to finish.

The British Ladies' Championship was regained by Miss Pamela Barton, who held the title in 1936. In winning at Portrush, Miss Barton defeated Mrs. T. Marks of Malone in the final round. Mrs. Marks was the first Irish player to figure in the final round of this championship for twenty-eight years.

The British also retained their own Amateur Championship when Charles Yates of Atlanta, Ga., who won last year, lost out in the third round to Richard D. Chapman of Greenwich, Conn. Chapman reached the quarter-finals, where he was eliminated by the eventual runner-up, Lt. Anthony Duncan. Last American survivor was William Holt of Syracuse, N. Y., who lost to Alex Kyle, former British Walker Cup player of Sand Moor, Yorkshire, 2 and 1 in the semi-finals. In the first final ever played between a Welshman and a Scot, Kyle was the victor 2 and 1. Ellsworth Vines, former American tennis champion, competed and went to the third round.

Chapman, however, succeeded in bringing back to America the French Amateur Championship, when he defeated Jacques Leglise, 5 and 4 in the 36-hole final.

The United States Seniors Golf Championship, a 36-hole medal play tournament held at the Apawamis Club, Rye, N. Y., was won by Charles H. Jennings of Roaring Gap, N. C., with a score of 148. The sixty-two year old veteran also won the title in 1924.

Although Miss Patty Berg, the defending champion, did not compete, the field in the United States Women's Championship at Wee Burn Club, Noroton, Conn., was exceptionally strong. Miss Pamela Barton, British Ladies Champion, and American titleholder in 1936, was the favorite, but she was eliminated in an early round. The winner, 21-year-old Betty Jameson, defeated Dorothy Kirby of Atlanta, Ga., by a score of 3 and 2 in the 36-hole final.

Vincent D'Antoni, 21-year-old senior from Tulane University, took the National Intercollegiate title at the Wakondah Country Club, Des Moines, Ia. This tournament had its most successful year, with 186 entries. D'Antoni succeeded Johnny Burke of Georgetown as champion when he beat Warren Berl, 18-year-old Stanford University sophomore, 10 and 8. The team title was successfully defended by Stanford.

The North Shore Country Club, Chicago, Ill., was the scene of the United States Amateur championship. Here Marvin Ward of Spokane established his supremacy over his fellow simon pures, defeating Raymond Billows of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., in the 36-hole final, 7 and 5. Semi-finalists were Arthur Doering, Jr., Chicago, and Don Schumacher, Dallas, Tex. William Turnesa, the defending champion, was eliminated in an early round.

The National Public Links Championship, played in Baltimore, was won by Andrew Szwedko, a steel worker from Pittsburgh, Pa., when he defeated Philip Gordon of Oakland, Calif., in the 36-hole final, 1 up.

In 1939, as in every year since 1914, a native failed to win the Canadian Open Championship. Harold McSpaden, Winchester, Mass., professional, took first prize with a 72-hole total of 282, 5 strokes better than the total of Ralph Guldahl, Madison, N. J., the runner-up. The event was played over the Riverside course, St. John, N. B. Leading Canadian players were professional Stanley Horne and amateur Ross Summerville, tied with 291.

Leading money winner over the year's play was Henry Picard, who earned $10,303 in prizes. Byron Nelson was awarded the Harry Vardon trophy, emblematic of the highest point score attained over all of 1939's major tournaments. Nelson finished with 473 points, followed by Picard with 461 and Snead with 345. Snead took both honors in 1936.

Although the matches were cancelled due to the war, a United States Ryder Cup Team was appointed by a nominating committee headed by Walter Hagen as non-playing captain. Those honored by selection were Victor Ghezzi, Deal, N. J., Ralph Guldhal, Madison, N. J., James Hines, Great Neck, L. I., Harold McSpaden, Winchester, Mass., Richard Metz, Chicago, Byron Nelson, Reading, Pa., Paul Runyan, White Plains, N. Y., Horton Smith, Chicago, and Samuel Snead, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.

Thomas Walsh of Chicago, Ill., was elected president of the Professional Golfers Association, succeeding George Jacobus, Ridgewood, N. J. Harold W. Pierce, Boston, Mass., was nominated to succeed A. M. Reid, New York, as President of the United States Golf Association.

1938: Golf

The outstanding event in golf during 1938 was the victory of Great Britain in the Walker Cup tournament. This was the first time the British Team had won the contest since the series was inaugurated in 1922. The final score in the tournament, held June 4-5 at St. Andrews, was 7 matches to 4 in favor of the British team.

The United States women, however, retained the Curtis Cup which has never been won by the British. On Sept. 8, at the Essex County Club in Manchester, Mass., the American women, under the leadership of Mrs. Estelle Lawson Page, national champion, staged a brilliant rally after being almost shut out of the running when they dropped two and halved one of the initial three foursome matches. The final score was 5 matches for the American team to 3 matches for the British team.

In the United States Open Golf Championships, held for the first time west of the Mississippi River, at Denver, Colo., on June 9, Ralph Guldahl, of Madison, N.J., with a 72-hole score of 284 (six strokes better than his nearest opponent, Richard Metz of Chicago), won the title for the second successive year. Guldahl registered a remarkable subpar score of 69 in the last round. The next week on June 16, at St. Louis, Guldahl again distinguished himself by winning for the third successive year the Western Open Championship with a total score of 270, the first person to capture the Western Open crown three times in succession.

The United States Amateur Championship tournament, played Sept. 17, at Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh, was won by William Turnesa, the youngest of six golfing brothers, and a recent graduate of Holy Cross College, overwhelming Patrick Abbott of Altadena, Calif., in the 30-hole final, eight up and seven holes to play. In the United States Women's Golf Championships, held Sept. 24, at Wilmette, Illinois, Miss Patty Berg defeated the defending champion, Mrs. Estelle Lawson Page, six up and five holes to play to win the Women's National title.

The finals of the British Open Championships, played July 8 at Sandwich, England, by a predominantly British field, were won by Reginald A. Whitcombe of England, who defeated James Adams of Scotland by two strokes with a 72-hole score of 295. In the British Amateur Tournament, held May 28 at Troon, Scotland, Charles Yates of Atlanta, Ga., a member of the Walker Cup team, defeated Cecil Ewing of Ireland, defending champion, on the final day, to capture the British Amateur titles while in the Women's tournament, held May 20 at Burnham-on-the-Sea, Mrs. Helen Holm of Scotland defeated Miss Elsic Corlett of England four up and three holes to play in the 36-hole finals to win the British women's crown.

The United States National Professional Tournament, sponsored by the Professional Golfers Association, was won by Paul Runyan of New York on July 16, at Shawnee-on-the-Delaware. Runyan defeated Sam Snead eight up and seven holes to play, the largest margin ever registered in the national professional finals. Snead, however, won the Canadian Open title on Aug. 23 at Toronto and finished the season as the year's largest money winner.

In intercollegiate circles, John Paul Burke of Georgetown University captured the National Intercollegiate Championship title in the finals held July 2 at Louisville, Ky.