"I Am Bobby Locke"

Whenever someone mentions money, Golfer Bobby Locke's ears sharpen to a point. Would Locke consider taking a $5,000 guarantee to play in Chicago's Tarn O' Shanter tourney? asked the man from Chicago. Would he! Locke put in a hurry-up telephone call to London, broke his date to play in the British Open. He called South Africa, said he wouldn't be home for a while.

Last week, with the help of a rusty old gooseneck putter, Bobby Locke collected his $5,000 guarantee and $2,000 besides. Other golfers--like Ben Hogan and Jimmy Demaret--refused to indulge in such Tam O' Shanter shenanigans as wearing numbers on their backs, but since there was money in it, Locke was willing. After 72 holes, he was twelve strokes under par and in a first-place tie with Ed ("Porky") Oliver. He went on to beat Oliver in a playoff, and to become the third biggest money winner on this year's pro golf circuit.* His explanation: "It's just relaxed control, old boy."

Before the war, Bobby Locke was South Africa's best golfer and among the least popular. Once, on a golfing trip to England, Locke got mad at being kept waiting by England's haughty Henry Cotton, retaliated by playing so deliberately that the match was nearly night-foundered. But, the story goes, when Locke himself was upbraided by a fellow South African for being an hour late for dinner with an English lord, he retorted: "I am Bobby Locke."

Five years in the South African Air Force changed him from a 1 20-pounder to a heavy-jowled 180, and mellowed him a bit. When he arrived in the U.S. last April, galleries were impressed with his jaunty plus fours, his cheery smile, the way he tipped his cap to applause. Even more impressively, he won four of his first six tournaments against the best U.S. pros (TIME, June 9). Former U.S. Open Champion Lawson Little said ruefully: "He hasn't anything on anybody over here except concentration . .-. and he's the finest putter who ever putted in America."

Bobby Locke liked the clink of Yankee dollars, and made no secret of it. He scolded galleryites who took pictures, and his cap-tipping became an automatic gesture. Said easygoing Golfer Sammy Snead: "He's O.K. ... he just wants to make a million dollars." When one newsman approached Locke for an interview, he was told: "If it's anything instructional, old boy, I'm afraid I'll have to charge you for it. Sorry, but that's the way it is." For $100 he would talk.

Easy Does It. Because of South Africa's gusty winds, Locke developed a low pitch-and-run shot approaching the greens (most U.S. players take a deep undercut that throws the ball high in the air and stops it dead on the green). His tee shots are medium-long but uncannily straight. His putting ("an easy, relaxed swing with the putter blade square to the ball at the impact ... an easy follow-through in the direction of the ball and pin") is as smooth and precise as Willie Hoppe stroking a billiard ball. "It just takes practice, old boy."

Bobby Locke plans to stay around for at least three more tournaments before returning to his home in Johannesburg. He expects to be back in the U.S. for the golden 1948 winter circuit.

*Locke's total is now $16,187.50. Ahead of him: Ben Hogan, with $18,724; Jimmy Demaret, with $17,686.

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