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Show TPHE Benny Hogan-Byron Nelson fairway series is now ruining 4 to 1 in Nelson's favor. Byron's latest victory-the Masters Mas-ters championship at Augusu-was a brUliant battle between today's greatest golfing pair. Nelson, two-time two-time winner of the Masters, played a dazzling game to defeat Hogau, one of the greatest money players any game has known. This personalized competition started back in 1926 at the Glen Garden Country club in Fort Worth, Texas. Ben and Byron had to play i off twice, at nine holes each time, I for the club's caddie title. Nelson took a 39 to Hogan's 40 the second time around. Incidentally, the win-ner win-ner received a midiron and the sec-ond-place finisher received amashie. That was before players designated clubs by number. By way of cuii-1 r f - i "z J r U v -? I : l if - :f BYRON NELSON trast. Nelson won $1,500 at the recent re-cent Masters playoff and Hogan took $800 as second money. In 1940 the two native Texans met in a playoff for the Texas Open at San Antonio and Nelson won, 70 to 71. Next year they played in the quarterfinal round of the National PGA championship. Nelson won S to 1. Last July, playing on Bobby Jones' team in a Red Cross benefit challenge match against the Ryder 1 Cup squad in Detroit, Hogan won 2 and 1. Two-Time Winner Nelson won his other Masters championship In 1937 when he finished fin-ished with a terrific rush the last nine holes of regulation play. With two Masters titles, a National Open championship in 1939, plus the PGA title in 1940, there is no questioning his rank as one of the great golfers of all time. Hogan? This diminutive, 140-pound marksman has taken over two departments de-partments of the greatest value to touring professionals. He holds the Vardon trophy and money winning .titles. In 1942, including proceeds from the Masters, Hogan has won $9,598 and chalked up 260 points for the Vardon trophy. Second place money winner is Sam Snead of Hot Springs, Va., with $6,078 in prize money. Snead has 154 points for third place for the Vardon trophy. Nelson ranks third in the money division with $5,822 and second in Vardon competition with a total of 204 points. Both Hogan and Nelson came up the hard way. And that's the way they finished in what may be the last Masters for the duration. In what was expected to be the final round Hogan shot a 70, thereby finishing fin-ishing with a 72-hole score of 280, eight under par for the Augusta National Na-tional course. In doing so he made up three strokes on Nelson who, the previous day, led at the 54-hole mark with 207. In the final scheduled round, Nelson took a 73 to tie the count. Winning Golf Two down before he teed off cn the second hole of the 18 which were to settle the tie, Nelson was two over par at the end of four holes. Then, suddenly, he snapped out cf it From the fifth through the 13th. Byron was six under par with four birdies and an eagle. It's impossible impos-sible to beat that kind of golf. Not even Hogan could do it. As usual, a verbal replay was necessary. nec-essary. For instance, there was that 10-Inch putt which Nelson missed. This, in the long run, would have given him the championship in regulation regu-lation time. To balance this, how-ever, how-ever, he had a two-stroke lead with two par-four holes to go. He went over on one and then found that Hogan had sunk a five-footer for a birdie three, which he failed to match on the last green and which threw the tournament into those extra holes. Nelson's play on the eighth hole In the final round was beautiful to behold. The eighth is par five, uphill up-hill and with a mound guarding the cup at the end of a green shaped somewhat like the blade of a hockey stick Nelson had a powerful drive. He followed this with a spoon "sec-ond" "sec-ond" on a straight line over the mound, dropping it some fiye fee from the flag. When he holed out for an eagle, he was one up and never was behind from that point. Hogan needed a five. This spectacular spectacu-lar bit of golf accounted largely for Nelson's hard-won victory. |