view raw text
Fleck Starts Money Merry-Go-Round Offers Shower New U. S. Open Champ Hogans Conqueror to Play In St. Paul Open Next, Then Complete Long SummerTour By HAL WOOD ; United Press Sports Writer SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., June 20. Jack , Fleck, who has had trouble making enough money to buy hamburgers during the past , few months on the tour, today suddenly , was thrust into the mad merry-go-round , that brings riches to the National Open golf champion. The handsome, 32-year-old soft-spoken Davenport, la., star no sooner got off the ; tee yesterday than the offers started piling up that should make him a fortune during : the next 12 months. The first returns came at 4 a.m. this morning, when he appeared on the nationally-televised Dave Garroway show, for which he received ,000. For his short appearance, he received more money than he sometimes made on the tour in a month. "But I dont know what Ill be doing next week or the .week after, or in the future," he said. "The offers are pourine in so fast that it is going to take some time to consider them all." Due to Arrive Early This Morning Fleck is slated to fly out of here at 10 tonight on TWA for Chicago. Arriving there at 5:20 a.m., he will transfer to a United Airliner for Moline, arriving there at 7:35 a.m. Central time. "Im going to skip the Western Open at Portland later this week," said Fleck today between telephone calls, "and Ill probably rejoin the tour with the St. Paul Open, July 7. Then I expect to finish the summer tour." After his brilliant victory over Bantam Ben Hogan in the play-off for the title yesterday, Fleck was besieged with offers for everything from endorsements to exhibition dates. Being a level-headed businessman, he is weighting each one carefully to make sure that he makes jio missteps. Both Ed Furgol and the vanquished Hogan predicted that young Fleck would make a great champion. There was pity in the hearts of the 10,000 as he came to the microphone to accept his ,000 check for winning the championship yesterday. He couldnt say a word for about a minute. Then be blurted out: "Im speechless." He was all right after that and from then on in he talked like the true champion. Jack drove to San Francisco in his car, but when he reached the play-off, he turned it over to fellow-professionals Dow Finsterwald, Walker Inman and Doug Ford and they drove it to Portland for the Western. Hes not sure when hell be able to pick it up again unless it is in St. Paul.
