Show SPEAKING OF SPORTS By ROBERT McSHANE Released by Western Newspaper Union WHAT HAT promises to be one of the most interesting winter whiter golf campaigns ever known is well under under under un un- un- un der way with most of last years year's professional professional professional pro pro- favorites still ensconced inthe in inthe inthe the golden seat managing to hold their own against all comers With approximately In prize money to shoot at the pros have unlimbered their biggest guns The quest for gold and glory started in Miami recently and continues some miles up and down the West Vest coast then to Arizona and Texas then to New Orleans and finally back to Florida First successful searcher was Lord Byron Nelson he of the poetic golf swing who headed westward westward westward west west- ward with 2500 Miami Open money in his pocket N Nelson elson conceded by many fellow professionals to be the worlds world's greatest golfer won won the affair affair affair af af- af- af fair with a nine strokes under par for the 72 holes He won by a single stroke from Clayton Heafner of Linville N. N C. C Money Winner Little Ben Hogan of White Plains N. N Y the years year's leading money winner finished with a total and third place Sam Snead of Hot Springs and Willie Goggin of Miami Miami Miami Mi Mi- ami tied for fourth with No one was particularly surprised to see Nelson walk off oft with top honors honors honors hon hon- ors in the initial tournament of the winter circuit Not even his closest competitor begrudged him the Ule 2500 for Lord Byron was on his game game and and that means golf near perfection By the same token however however however how how- ever no one would have been surprised surprised surprised sur sur- if the victory had gone to Hogan Bogan Snead Demaret Smith or any anyone one of a dozen other 40 1939 favorites It is only natural that a lot of questions remain unanswered as yet The winter campaign is too young to be used as the basis for any prognostications For instance can Sammy Sammy Sammy Sam Sam- my Snead finally hit his true stride and start winning tournaments with that beautiful swing Remember that he finished the fall meets in good shape And he opened the winter wars with a good showing Dub golfers dont don't place fourth against competition like the Miami Open offered For a while things were looking dark for the West Virginian Vir Vir- ginian He had blown the National Opens of Philadelphia and Cleveland Cleveland Cleveland Cleve Cleve- land in 1939 and 1940 He lost his poise in the pinches and his mental mental mental men men- tal attitude went haywire when the chips were down Later on Sammy regained his courage He won three of his last four big tournaments and gave Nelson a real battle for the professional golfers' golfers crown A Man l to Watch Snead is one of the country's best golfers Almost any pro golfer will insist that Sammy's is the finest swing in the game that game that he cant can't be beat from drive to pitch His big weakness has been his mental attitude which has let him down downall downall downall all too often orten Once he gains full control of himself he will win considerably considerably con con- more than his share of tournaments Ralph Guldahl is another player to watch He hasn't been playing the kind of golf goli that hes he's capable of playing Guldahl plays as cool a game as any man in the pro ranks His failure to win more tournaments baffles even the experts He is the kind of a player one would expect to tobe tobe tobe be consistent He plays as though his veins were filled with ice water This may be his year He used to wreck the field and may start in allover all allover allover over again You may remember that Jimmy Demaret was a regular ball of fire along the winter circuit last year He lie grabbed all the Ule headlines in California California Cal Cal- Texas and Florida lie He didn't I open with a bang this year year win win winning ning exactly in Miami Miami but but buthe he may come back to surprise the Ben Hogan is likely to pick up where he left off last year The 1000 he won in Florida ran his total earnings for the year to This is gave him possession of the Vardon ardon trophy awarded annually by bythe bythe bythe the Professional Golfers association to its most consistent member Nelson Nelson Nel Nel- son winner of last years year's Vardon trophy was second with a total of 01 and Snead was third with Hogan who weighs in the neighborhood neighborhood neighborhood neigh neigh- of pounds continues to astound his contemporaries with his tremendous drives Despite his small frame he lays them off the tee with the longest drivers in the game It wouldn't be at all surprising surprising sur sur- if he continued the pace he set in California a year ago Sport Olt Shorts lofts The Missouri Athletic commission is fostering a series of elimination matches to determine the worlds world's wrestling champion Ray Murphy Murphy Murphy Mur Mur- phy Army's football elect captain-elect from Anaconda Mont attended a Butte business college Montana U. U and Montana State before being admitted admitted admitted ad ad- to West Point Baseball sans fans in the Canal Zone hope to r ise with which they will try to induce the Giants and Indians Indian's to train there in 1942 |