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Rivals Put Little Ben Hoaan on Soot Pick Him to Win Fourth Open Title TitleQualifying Qualifying Rounds for 300 Over Tough Par 72 Course To Get Under Way Tuesday TuesdayBy By FRANK BERKOPEC BERKOPECUnited United Press Sports Writer WriterPITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH Pa June 6 The na ¬ tions top golfers screamed today that Oak mont Country Clubs 6916 yards of mur ¬ derous rough and furrowed traps were mighty tough and picked little Ben H6 gan to win his fourth National Open title here next week weekWhy Why play the tournament amateur Frank Stranahan said Lets have the presentation presentationEarly Early arrivals from the 300 pros and amateurs who will compete in qualifying rounds here and at Pittsburgh field club Tuesday and Wednesday crowded the trap marked par 72 course courseHbgan Hbgan who took to practicing alone after shooting a six over par 78 on one of his early rounds said frankly that Ive got to go to work workI I can sum this course up in one word tough Hogan said The fairways are the widest of any open Ive ever played in the greens are fast and with this sun theyll get faster fasterHe He said it was a rough layout and any trip into that rough may cost the player a stroke and added that the Oakmont rough was as tough as I have encountered anywhere anywhereHassle Hassle Over Condition of Course CourseThe The state of Oakmonts rough pulled away attention from the 260 furrowed traps over which the United States Golf Association and Oakmont officials hassled for weeks The USGA asked Oakmont to smooth out the traps an Oakmont trade ¬ mark of which its 560 members are fiercely proud But the club insisted that the tour ¬ nament should take the course as is with no concessions to anybody anybodyThe The issue finally was settled this after noon at a conference after which Richard P Tufts USGA championship committee chairman announced that furrows are al ¬ lowed under USGA rules and will remain He said the club will modify the furrows somewhat however by applying a more shallow rake to bunkers adjacent to fair ¬ ways The furrows in green bunkers will be about two inches deep deepLloyd Lloyd Mangrum indicated he didnt like the course known throughout the country for its 10 blind holes as well as its contro ¬ versial furrowed traps and lightning fast undulating greens The difficult rough is an added feature that Oakmont didnt have before this year yearThere There are too many blind holes either from the teeor the second shot to make it an outstanding championship course Mangrum said saidGary Gary Middlecoff one of the field of half dozen former Open champs on the scene said that whoever wins this tournament will have to be a good golfer He liked the condition of the greens greensOther Other top players out for early morning practice rounds were Sammy Snead Lloyd Mangrum Tony Penna Dick Metz Jim Ferrier and Claude Harmon The 1952 Open champ Julius Boros and Bobby Locke the South African pro were expect ed to fly in from Montreal tomorrow tomorrowNearly Nearly all picked 160 as the card needed to pass the 36hole medal play qualifying rounds which will weed the competition down to 150 golfers for the opening of the tournament play on June 11 Combined par for the two qualifying courses is 143 143Despite Despite a tendency to favor Hogan more and more stress was being paid to the pos ¬ sible score of the winner A 294 posted in a state tournament in 1928 was the closest card ever turned in to the 72hole par of 288 for tournament play The last National Open here was in 1935 and was won by Sammy Parks Jr with a 299 299Club Club officials said their course was in top condition and greenskeeper Bobby Loeffler said he had tuned up the fastest greens these guys have seen in a long time
