TOM ROBBINS AGAIN Monterey Peninsula Attractive Site LEADS THE SENIORS • 'lharacteristicallY, all who play in the son, he did the seventeen holes in one C USGA Senior Amateur Champion- under par. Dawson's victim by 2 and 1 ship qualify as "veterans." They must in the other semi-final was 56-year-old have reached their 55th birthday and Ross McDade, Jr., of EI Centro, Cal., for- earned handicaps not exceeding ten mer Louisiana Champion and a frequent strokes. competitor on the Monterey Peninsula. If the term "veteran senior" were not Although close all the way, the final redundant, however, Thomas C. Robbins really broke at the 372-yard eighth hole, would qualify. Now 65 years old, retired where Tom Robbins sliced his drive into and living near Pinehurst, N.C., he is a ravine and then, with his ball lying in certainly a veteran among seniors. a shallow stream, played a magnificent When Tom Robbins, who didn't start No. 4 iron 160 yards through guarding playing until he was 31, entered senior golf, he nearly ran away with the show. trees dead to the hole for a birdie 3. It gave him a lead he never relinquished, He won the championship of the United and he has since donated the iron to the States Seniors' Golf Association in 1951 and 1952, the championship of the USGA Museum in "Golf House" to per- petuate the memory of the shot. American Seniors' Golf Association in 1951, the old Masters Tournament in It was apparent that the seniors, who 1951, 1952 and 1953 and whole series of seem to have a good time everywhere, senior events at the Winged Foot Golf had an especially good time on the Club, in Westchester County and in the Monterey Peninsula. The Country Club's Metropolitan New York area. eourse, which measures an interesting In the fourth USGA Senior Amateur 6,236 yards, threads through pine woods Championship this fall, Tom Robbins Gindalong oceanside sand dunes to pro- was the third oldest of the thirty-two vide spectacular variety. And near-by in who qualified for match play, but he the Del Monte Forest are the famed Peb- proved he can still hold his own with ble Beach Golf Links and the Cypress the best by going all the way to win his Point Club. Most of the seniors took time first victory. to play them, too, although there were The championship was held at the pic- [lIso, at the Country Club, consolation turesque Monterey Peninsula Country rr,atch play flights of sixteen for non- Club, in Pebble Beach, Cal., and in the qualifiers and an 18-hole consolation minds of many Californians, had been 5troke round for all who were beaten in made to order for "young" John W. Daw- i-he first round of match play. son, of Palm Desert, Cal., the 1949 Wal- In addition, the social amenities were ker Cup player, who had turned 55 earlier exploited to the full, not only at the cus- in the year and already had won the tomary USGA Players' Dinner but in championship of the United States other ways. On the Sunday evening be- Seniors' Golf Association in his first year fore play started, the California Seniors of eligibility. Of course, J. Clark Espie, Golf Association entertained at the hill- of Indianapolis, 59, also was a man to be top home of Col. and Mrs. Warren J. reckoned with, since he was defending Clear and the hospitality there was as Champion, as well as runner-up in 1956. breath-taking as the view of Monterey Tom Robbins met them head-on, as be- Bay. On Monday morning, as each player comes a Champion. He disposed of Espie tf~edoff, he was presented a silver money in the semi-finals, 2 up, and Dawson in clip, suitably engraved, as a gift from the the final, 2 and 1. Against Espie, he California Seniors. As the players mov- scored a 76, four over par. Against Daw- eo over the course they found eager 1'3 USGA JOURNAL AND TURF MANAGEMENT: NOVEM3EP.., 1958 and friendly "fore-caddies" behind al- Adrian McManus, father of the semi- most every hill and tree, all members of finalist in the recent Amateur Champion- the 200-man senior association which op- ship in San Francisco, was a local favorite erates within the membership of the since' in the preceding week he had suc- Country Club and organized by Rear C"f ssfully defended his California Senior .t1.dm. Clifford W. Eshom: Championship by scoring two 70s on this Clark Espie opened his defense by win- S<lme course. It was, therefore, a mild ning the qualifying medal with a one-un- surprise when he was beaten by James der-par 35-36-71, the lowest score in the H McAlvin of Lake Forest, Ill., in the c(\mparatively brief history of the event. first round. Eight players tied at 79 for the last of For 68-year-old Chick Evans, of Chi- the thirty-two places in the Champion- cago, the former Amateur and Open ship, and the early darkness which fell Champion, this fourth Senior Amateur with the return to standard time forced Championship carried a special thrill. For a postponement of the play-off to the fol- the first time, he qualified for match lowing morning. Then, playing through play, with a fine 77, and then won two heavy dew, Vincent Fitzgerald, of Gar- matches before bowing to Espie, 4 and 3, den City, N.Y., made a solid par 4 on the in the quarter-finals. Evans was one of first and a twelve-foot putt for a birdie those who assisted in establishing a 3 on the second to take the place. USGA Championship for seniors. SENIOR GOLFERS - AND CHAMPIONS, TOO -Julian P. Graham Photo John W. Dawson (left) turned 55 this year and made his first attempt to win the USGA Senior Amateur Championship at the Monterey Peninsula Country Club, in Pebble Beach, Cal., but he was turned back in a par-breaking final by Thomas C. Robbins (right), who is 65 and has learned a trick or two about senior golf. USGA JOURNAL AND TURF MANAGEMENT: NOVEMBER, 1958 19.