Nichols Sinks $18,000 Putt For Carling Title

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30534, 1 September 1964, Page 19

Nichols Sinks $18,000 Putt For Carling Title

fN Z. Press Association—Copyright) BIRMINGHAM (Michigan), August 30. Bobby Nichols sank a four-foot putt worth 18,000 dollars on the 18th green of Oakland Hills course, Birmingham, today. 1 hat was the difference in prize money he earned as winner of the Carling world championship of golf and the prize which went to Arnold Palmer as second place-getter just one stroke behind.

Nichols, aged 20, the American P.G.A. champion from Louisville. Kentucky, withstood the pressure of a top-class field and finished with a 72 for a total of 278, two under par.

South Africa's Gary Player was third, two strokes behind Palmer.

Palmer fought right down to the last hole, which he turned into a great birdie three for a 71 and total of 279. His second place finish was worth 17,000 dollars. Player just missed a long putt for a birdie on the final hole, and finished with a par 70 for a 281 total. He won 8500 dollars. Player was the best of the

17 overseas players who went into the final round of the tournament, which was the richest in golf history. The veteran, Ben Hogan, who won the United States Open at Oakland Hills in 1951, had a magnificent 68 today to finish only two over par for the 72 holes at 282. This was a tremendous per- ■ formance and would have been better if putting lapses on the first day had not pushed his score out to 72. Led Two Rounds Nichols led the field through the final two rounds. He fired a 66 yesterday to take a two-stroke lead, which he held until the last hole today. There Palmer, playing just ahead of him, got into a difficult lie off the tee, but recovered magnificently, hitting

the pin, and then holed out for his birdie. But Nichols played safe and surely at the eighteenth as he did all day. He got to within 40 feet of the hole with two strokes, sent a long putt to within four feet of the cup, and sank it The victory was worth more than his entire earnings in the 1963 season—33,6o4 dollars. The big pay-off boosted Nichols’s season earnings to 72,087 dollars and raised him to the top five in the winning list. Palmer, who has come in second in five of the last seven tournaments and finished third in the other two, boosted his earnings to 110,743 dollars. The battle between Nichols and Palmer was worthy of a world championship. Palmer, who was behind, provided most of the drama as he strove to pull back vital strokes. Charles Equal 39th R. J. Charles of New Zealand finished with 291 with a round of 77 today. He was equal thirty-ninth and received 910 dollars prize money. He had an outside chance of getting near the top prize money when he stood on 214 eight strokes behind Nichols overnight, but he dropped three strokes on his outward nine today to lose that slender chance. Final scores and prize money in dollars of the leaders and Australian and New Zealand players in the Carling Open reported by United Press International:

Bobby Nichols, 72,. 68, 66, 72—278 (35,000). Arnol Palmer 70, 71, 67, 71—279 (17.000). Gary Player, 72, 72, 67, 70—281 (8500). Ben Hogan, 72, 70, 72, 68—282 (6850). Pete Brown, 71, 73, 69 68—282 (6850). Bruce Devlin, 68, 74, 72, 69—283 (5500). Terry Dill, 74, 71, 68, 70—283 (5500). Jay Hebert, 73, 69, 73, 70—285 (4038). Gene Littler, 73, 7!, 70, 71—285 (4033). Billy Casper, 70, 79 71, 72—285 (4033). Raymond Floyd, 75 70, 73, 68—286 (2800). Julius Boros, 73, 79 71, 70—286 (2800). Jack Nicklaus, 73, '“•> 70, 71—286 (2800). Lione Hebert, 73, 70, 71—287 (2200). Frank Beard, 73, 71, 71, 72—287 (2200). Bob Rosburg, 72, 70, 73, 72—287 (2200), R J Charles 72, 72, 70, 77—291 <910).