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Chapman Leads American Victories Scores With Ease In British Amateur Defending Champion and His Countrymen Impress Golfing Experts With Power Display By HENRY THORNBERRY United Press Sports Writer PRESTWICK, Scotland, May 26 Dick Chapman of Pinehurst, N. C, opened defense of his British Amateur golf championship with an easy victory today, leading a parade of American might which aroused fears in the gallery that the cup was headed across the Atlantic again for the fifth time in six years. Actually, only 12 of the 25 Americans in action in the first days play scored victories on the rugged Prestwick course. But so impressive were the performances of Chapman and his victorious countrymen thut many British golfing experts expressed deep concern about the weak nature of the homefront challenge. Among the British entries, only Joe Carr of Ireland, who won handily today, and Alex Kyle of England, who advanced by default over American-born Bob Sweeny, the 1937 champion, were rated strong enough to cope with the American threat. In addition to Chapman, the leading Americans who won were Billy Maxwell, the U. S. amateur titleholder from Odessa, Tex.; Jim McHale of Philadelphia, Frank Strafacin of Garden City, N. Y., Hobart Manley of Savannah, Ga., Harvie Ward of Tarboro, N. C, and Bob Knowles of Aiken, S. C. Stranahan Plays Today In all, nine Yanks who had drawn first round byes, shot their way into the third round; two more advanced to the third round by default, and three scored first round triumphs. Nine Americans most of whom had entered the tournament "just for the ride," were beaten in the second round, four lost out in the opening round, and five others defaulted their matches. The 12 remaining U. S. golfers in the tournament, led by two-time former champion Frank Stranahan of Toledo, O., swing into actiort tomorrow in second round matches. All drew first round byes. "Chapman, 41-year-old socialite who won the tournament last year after a decade of trying, won sis of the first nine holes from V. R. Lindsay-Renfrew, a little-known Scottish Club player, and romped to a 6 and 5 victory in a second round match. Maxwell, the 22-year-old Texan seeking to duplicate Lawson Littles feat of winning the U. S. and British titles in succession also had an easy second round match as he trimmed Gordon Buchanan Peters, a former British Walker-Cupperfrom Scotland, 5 and 3. Carding three birdies on the front nine, Maxwell took a 3 up lead at the turn, then won three of the last six for his victory. McHale, who fell behind on the fourth hole when he first shot into a brook and later under a stone to take an eight, pulled his game together and lost only one of the next nine holes as he breezed to a 6 and 5 triumph over Neville Dunn, 17-year-old British boys champion, to reach the third round. Strafaci Fires Three Birdies Strafaci, who had the toughest opponent of any of the Yanks in Henri Lamaze, Frances No. 1 amateur, fired three birdies on the first five holes and made his early lead stand up for a 4 and 3 second round victory. Manley beat D. T. Dobie of Kenya, 4 and 3, and Knowles whipped army Colonel Tony Lawrence of Fairhaven, Mass., 5 and 4, in an all-American second round match. Ward, 26-year-old former U. S. intercollegiate champion who is competing in the British tournament for the first time, was one of three Americans who scored a 4 and 3 first round victory, eliminating 20-year-old Ronnie Nichol of Scotland. The two other U. S. entries victorious in the first round were Felix Salamon of Nyack, N. Y., who beat Capt. James Brady of the U. S. army, 4 and 3, in an all-American match that opened the tournament, and Capt. J. M. Anderson of the U. S. army, who defeated R. Neill of Scotland, Three more Americans won second round matches, one at the expense of a fellow-countryman. Bill Shields of Albany, N. Y., beat Ed Lowery of San Francisco, 3 and 2; George Hackl of Princeton, N. J., edged T. T. Reedy of Scotland, 1 up on the 19th hole, and J. F. McNeilly, a U. S. air force man from Lynn, Mass., downed W. M. MacKenzie of Scotland, 1 up. Of the 18 U. S. entries eliminated, the best known was Sweeny, who was born in Pasadena, "Calif., but now makes his home in London. Sweeny, who won the championship 15 years ago, had cabled a telegram that, he was ill but asked that officials not scratch him until the last minute. .When he failed to answer three calls from the tee at his scheduled starting time, the match was awarded to the disappointed Kyle by default. Other U. S. competitors beaten in the second round were George Coleman of Miami, Okla.; Ray Renoud, a Paris businessman from Portland, Ore.; Barton Bridgeford of San Francisco; Clark Espie of Indianapolis, Ind.; Vincent Fitzgerld of New York, and Lt. Cmdr. H. E. Pembrook of Carlisle, Pa., a naval officer stationed in London.
