Show MONEY MAN by gene brockhaven E jy 0 LANE MERRIT there was more than the title of club golf il aplon at stake in match kry ry much more indeed there N for instance the need to wipe this donald youngs attempt to villate lane the evening before tr a the semi finals when tie called ss sj the he club dining room how i y aut a little bet on the match to 1 arow merrit say or so was a deliberate and lane ought light cheap try to embarrass i tor for young and the others iw w lane have ol 01 old i weller eller titling sitting with lane had peed lived at thim him to see how he was ing it he hesitated and then i led ed to young ill take that 00 betl bell and the so can be any to mak ill lane ig g you want e I 1 looked appealingly at pop and aided ded dont do it mr weller I 1 pop snorted its about time t j show off was taken down a peg two under the circumstances ie was nothing for young to do accept the bet but lane sensed i i too keen about it und ind then roost most important of a all re was kay cawley now up to ew w months before to the cawley I 1 merrit families and naturally jr and lane the future was deft ily settled for these two then tog mg entered the picture with hs his fay bihy man ot of the world manners lohes the and swank car and he pro aed to give kay the rush of that ing ladys ladym life lane was hurt somehow it all seemed so right I 1 that he blamed kay she was ing ing pretty and bubbling with bu for life she deserved elation and also the good times t lane just making his starts start I 1 unable to provide in tact fact with his fathers help he would have fa i to relinquish his membership in midvale country club at best would be two or more years bep he could rightly ask kay to set wedding date t breakfast lane gave thought to problems he wanted to win for own sake make he wanted to taste sweetness of victory over that 1 iw hard bard young he wanted to j 1 for or pop weller fine sport it leman and friend that he be was most of all he wanted to win k kay of course winning a golf be enough tor for this A 1 t but it might help lane iane arrived at the club a good 4 f hour before the time set tor for the rt ert of the finals and as he drove 1 I modest coupe into the grounds ground esaw saw young on the practice tee tamm in he be thought the guy vt be too confident as ahe he made his way through the j ater er room to his alley lane was led ed from all sides with good c wishes strangely he felt lie ie of the excitement which med to fill the room he knew besides it bes besides ldes pop wellers large bet ach c money had bad been wagered on outcome of the match lie ie dressed leisurely and he was lacing his shoes when young entered held out his hand and in a voice loud enough to carry said good luck merrit lane promptly acknowledged and returned the wish in kind but thought still playing to the gallery there was quite a crowd at the first tee and tor for the first time lane felt a bit squeamish in the stomach on the tee itself he saw young willie hopper waiting with his clubs young willie freckled faced snub nosed and hardly a dandy in his well worn denim pants and khaki shirt willie loyal and capable at his job the thought made lane feel better he caught a glimpse of kay standing ir in the crowd well back of the tee lane waved she smiled and waved back in encouragement he hoped they drove off straight and tar far e A lie he swung and hit hard bard and clean with youngs ball stopping a few yards out in front they halved the first hole in par figures and the way it went until the seventh when lane rolled in a long curling putt for a par to youngs bogie live five to go one up lane held that lead until the twelfth when young birdied the short hole after his iron shot from the tee had stopped a scant foot from the cup lane went one up again at the seventeenth when youngs second found a deep trap off the green and how the morning round ended gallery and players trooped into the club dining room for lunch the big room was noisy with the clatter of dishes and the chatter at the tables as shots of the round were talked over and replayed pop weller sat with lane you played fine golf my boy but I 1 think on one or two occasions a little too sate safe dont let my bet disturb you lane win lose or draw the dickens with it it mean a thing to me except the satisfaction ill get when I 1 collect it from that phony at two the second round started now midvale was no heartbreak heart break ing course tough enough and long enough but an intelligent golf committee had bad pointed to make it interesting and suitable to the games of its members rather than a test for topflight top flight pros it did boast however one hole 1 the thirteenth which would try the skill ot of the worlds best many midvale members had protested this hole but the terrain was such that the committee could do little about changing it two hundred and fitly fifty yards from the tee lust just tar far enough to catch the duffers dut second or third the fairway ended and dropped abruptly into a gully about fifty feet deep this gully with excellent turf stretched approximately a hundred yards along the bottom before the start of the rise back to the second section of fairway arriving at the thirteenth lane still retained his one up lead of the morning round he had played steady golf and two or three times he had fought off brilliant play by young which threatened his slender lead on the tee lane debated the advisability of 0 blasting tor for the gully or playing it sate safe he decided on the latter much to willie hoppers visible disapproval willie reluctantly handed over the requested spoon and ambled off toward the brink of the gully lane hitting first stepped to the tee the murmuring ot of the gallery ceased he swung and hit bit hard and clean the ball carried fairly straight as far as the two hundred yard marker and then hooked sharply downward and to the left two long bounces and it disappeared into the heavy rough willie on the other side ot of the fairway groaned as he hurried across to locate the ball A member ot of the gallery pointed deep in to a tiny white speck at the base ol of a small tree willie glanced hurriedly at the ball his heart sinking and took up his position nearby it was a bad break and be was puzzled that the ball had bounded so BO deeply into the rough meanwhile youngs drive a tremendous clout had carried the first fairway and gained momentum ro rf it hit the downhill roll ot of the bwy rolling almost to the very center ile he walked with lane the gallery trailing down the fairway from the ee e lane went into the rough and glanced down at the ball willie was guarding it was partly burled buried its markings completely hidden it was almost an unplayable lie and lane berating himself tor for the error in playing safe had about decided the best thing to do was to try to cut it out to the fairway just then someone called heres a ball lane looks like yours jim meredith refereeing the match walked to the second ball it was but a few feet in oft off the fairway sitting up pretty as you please on a small tuft of grass its markings marking clearly visible meredith ruled it was lanes ball and lane with a quick glance at the perfect lie he selected his braisle and sent the ball salling sailing over the gully and well onto the second section ot of the fairway it was a perfect shot and the gallery gasped As soon as lane had hit young walked up to meredith 1 I protest that ruling he said how do you know that was the ball merrit hit from the tee it could have been dropped there I 1 insist on examining that other ball by the tree im sure its Merr lt ball because from the tee I 1 watched it bounce into the rough toward that treel ins his face was white and set his bis voice shaky as the import of his words suddenly struck him that mats your privilege meredith answered he went over to the tree and lifted the half burled buried ball carrying it back to young see be said its ICs a falcon and you know the make ball merrit Is playing with that he walked off pop weller who had seen and heard muttered to the man next to him there goes your ball gamel game and the ball game went young dubbed his second completely the ball missing the top of the gully and rolling back to rest half way up the slope he stood watching the ball for a few seconds then his nerves breaking slammed the club heavily into the turf yes youve guessed it L lane ane won the match best of all kay rushed onto the sixteenth green where the match had ended to congratulate lane and right smack in sight of that large audience threw her arms around his neck and kissed himl him and much to pop wellers weller delight youngs young check bounced bounce dl |