African Wonder

"I ain't never before caddied for a grown man wearing short pants," drawled the caddy. The plus fours that Bobby Locke brought with him from South Africa got plenty of attention last week in Texas. They were not the only reminder Bobby Locke brought of a past, and more genial, era in golf.

Unlike the current crop of U.S. pros, who vary from businesslike to grim, Locke whistled while he walked. He had time for such small amenities as replacing divots, and applauding when an opponent sank a long putt. When his own steady putter went haywire last week on the 17th green of the $15,000 tourney at Fort Worth, he grinned and scolded himself: "Very shaky, very shaky playing indeed."

In his first 41 days in the U.S., Bobby Locke had won two of the three tournaments he played in, against the Hogans, Sneads, Demarets, etc. The galleries flocked after him: he looked like a picture postcard of a St. Andrews golfer; he doffed his baggy white cap in acknowledgment when the cheers were for him.

Inside-Out. Suspicious U.S. pros did not believe that he was only 29 (a weather-beaten, tweedy fellow, he could pass for 40), until he pulled out his press clippings. Sure enough, in 1935 he was the 17-year-old boy wonder who won the South African Open. His playing was old style. His stroke was a throwback to the basic Harry Vardon type of "inside-out" swing (most modern pros punch the ball more). He liked long, narrow fairways, for he specialized in consistently straight drives (average: 250 yards). The way he explains it: "Just a simple twist of the wrist, old fellow."

After a golfless stretch as a B-24 pilot in the Italian campaign, Locke is just getting his competitive edge back. His first. U.S. victim was Slammin' Sammy Snead, whom he thoroughly trounced in South Africa last winter. The day after Locke stepped off the plane from Johannesburg last month, he played in the tough Masters' tournament, and carded a 289.

At Fort Worth last week, he tied for third, finishing four strokes behind Winner Ben Hogan. His first lap on the U.S. golf circuit had already netted him $3,537 in prizes. South Africa's Bobby Locke was obviously a man to reckon with for next month's grand prize--the U.S. Open.

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