UNITED STATES GOLF

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 252, 23 October 1937, Page 4

UNITED STATES GOLF

THE AMATEUR TITLE JOHNNY GOODMAN’S WIN. Years of bitter disappointment were broken in August last by Johnny Goodman whe he finally fought his way to the promised land of golf. At the Alderwood country club course, Portland, before a gallery of 9000, he defeated Ray Billows, 2 up in the 36-hole final of the American amateur championship. It took Bobby Jones, who first played in the event at the age of 14, eight years to win his first amateur crown in 1924. Goodman, than whom there is probably no better amateur in the world to-day, has taken nine years, but in the meantime he has won the American open (1933). Now he has joined the four American immortals of U.S.A. golf—Francis Ouimet, Jerry Travers, Chick Evans and Bobby Jones—who were good enough to win both the open and amateur crowns. They don’t do things by halves in America, and even Goodman's 18-year-old caddie was asked to write his impression of the victory. If his story can be taken at its face value, well—caddies in the United States are more than bag carriers. This is what he wrote : Saturday was the proudest day of my life because the golfer I caddied for won the National Amateur championship. As soon as I began packing for Johnny Goodman in the practice rounds I knew he didn't hit long woods or irons, so whenever he was In the rough or in trouble I always gave him a longer iron so he could reach the green. Candy for Luck. Whenever he made a bad shot I would pull out a piece of Wintergreen candy and eat it. That flavour was my lucky one. I never had any fears for us during the qualifying rounds, even in the ram on Monday, because Johnny was always so straight down the middle of the fairway. When we started playing in the match rounds, our first match was against Donald McPhail, but we never

bad to worry about that one, because Jchnny took the first three holes All the other caddies told me new tough Jimmy McHale was, but I wasn’t a bit afraid, and Johnny won, 3 anl 2. That v as in the seco id. Our toughest match was against Bud Ward in the semi-lint is. Johnny wasn't afraid, but I was. Johnny started givind Bud his short putts, but after a while I told him to quit it, so he did and Ward started to miss them and then we went on to win. Gallery Against Him. I was scared when he played Don Moe and I told Johnny that the gallery would be all for Moe and he would have to play them, too. It was the same way against Ward—all the crowd was for him because he is from Olympia, but we played Ward and forgot all about the gallery. The crowd never bothered Johnny at all. All during the tournament Johnny tcok the club I told him to use, and he asked me plenty of times. I think the only time Johnny got scared was when we played Moe and we were 1 down on the thirteenth hole. But 1 said, "Don’t worry, we've got live more holes to go yet.” Then lie came in and won the next three. I got scared again on No. 16 yesternay afternoon when Johnny gave Ray Billows that short putt that left us cnly one up and two to go, but then I gave Johnny a pep talk like I always did when he started to slouch down in his game a little, and we finally won. I’ve been caddying for six years or more at Waverley, but this is the first t< urnament 1 have packed in I play gulf some myself, but I shoot about a 92. I'm left-handed