The Comer

Two days before the Western Open, Ben Hogan played a practice round at Buffalo's Brookfield Country Club. After measuring the power of the opposition, and his own fatigue after 18 tournaments in 1948, he said gloomily, "This one I don't expect to win."

But little Ben, 137 pounds of spring steel, didn't know his own strength. He slashed through three rounds for a neat 207--nine under par and three ahead of the field. In second place was good-natured Ed ("Porky") Oliver, of Seattle, who is heavy on the hoof but steady on the fairway. In the final round, Porky overtook Hogan and at one point was two strokes ahead; then he dropped back. On the last hole, Hogan needed to sink a 20-ft. putt to salt down the $2,500 first prize. But his putt curled away from the cup.

Next day in the playoff, Hogan played like the champion he is. Crisp and determined, he was over par on only one hole, had nothing but 43 and 35 on his card. His 64 for the round was a sensational eight under par, and two strokes under the Brookfield record. Porky Oliver, with a lackluster 73, suffered the worst play-off drubbing since Bobby Jones trimmed Al Espinosa by 23 strokes in a 36-hole playoff in the 1929 National Open. Oliver joined the Hogan rooters, cheerfully shouted "Get in!" at Hogan's putts. They did, and Hogan became the first man ever to win the National Open, the P.G.A. and the Western Open in one season.

After the match, Oliver told the crowd, "It's very nice of you people to come out and see Hogan play. I also enjoyed it . . . If I play with him a few more times, I'll be a good golfer myself."

The master of ceremonies introduced Hogan as "the greatest golfer that ever held a club," but Hogan would have none of that. "I don't want to ever reach that pinnacle. Then there's only one place to go and that's down. I want to be a 'comer.' ':

Having taken in $25,297.50 in prize money in seven months of tournament play, Hogan slipped away for a long rest and a series of golf shorts in Hollywood, before Reno's September Invitational. The other pros, who needed the money, headed for Chicago's brassy Tarn O'Shanter tournaments, which pay out the biggest prize money ($55,300) in golf. Oliver was bound there "to get some more cookies for my two girls and my boy . . . and to get away from Hogan."

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