The Pensacola News from Pensacola, Florida • 15

I Brewer Seeks Third Straight Title odd Peimsaeob peon Ronnie Joyce Ford, the 1958 champ. With two days of 7 pro- Editor By RONNIE JOYCE News Sports Editor They play for real today. They means the touring golf professionals as the $80,000 Pensacola Open golf tournament kicks off at the Pensacola Country Club. And back again to take a crack at the $16,000 first prize money is defending champion Gay Brewer, the winner of the past two Pensacola Opens. However, Brewer, who carded-a record-breaking 26-under-par to win last year, must face a strong field of 142 other pros and one amateur Downing Gray.

Doug Sanders, the colorful swinger from Cedartown, will also be seeking his third Pensacola Open title-having won here in 1962 and 1965. Two other former champions will be competing over the par-72 PCC layout, Gary Player, 1964 winner and Doug Carl 0 and Charlie Houts off the No. 1 tee. Five of the top ten 1968 leading money winners on the tour will be in action with Kermit Zarley, No. 4 leading the pack.

Others whose name is listed on the top ten money list are Dan Sikes, Gardner Dick- amateur play behind most of the competing pros, the run for the "real" money starts at 7:30 a.m. with the threesome of Maurice Hudson, Dick Hanscom and Orville Moody going off the No. 10 tee and the trio of Ed Davis, "Puffing Better Than Ever' -Player inson, Fay Floyd and Dave Marr. The leading money winner on the tour Tom Weiskopf is skipping the Pensacola event as is the No. 2 cash winner George Knudson and Al Geiberger, who is ranked No.

3. Frank Beard, No. 9 on the money list, and Billy Casper, No. 7, are also missing from the Pensacola field along with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. However, champions from three of the 1968 tournaments will be on hand: Zarley, winner of the Kaiser International; Dickinson, Doral champion and Sikes, the Citrus winner.

Other outstanding golfers competing in the 18th annual tournament are Dudley Wy-song, Bob McAllister, Harold Henning, Ken Venturi, Chi Chi Rodriguez, George Archer, Bobby Nichols, Tony Jacklin, Lee Trevino, Phil Rodgers, Mason Rudolph and Jacky Cupit. Not Joe's Game There's one thing about Joe Morrison, he really knows how to pick his sport, and it isn't golf. The flanker-halfback of the New York Giants of the National Football League toured the Pensacola Country Club course in record breaking style Wednesday in the third annual Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament. If Giant Coach Allie Sherman ever wants a way to get Morrison in shape then all he has to do is send the former University of Cincinnati star to the golf course. I don't know what the course record is at PCC for most yards walked or most times a player swings at the ball during an 18-hole match, but I'll tell you one thing, he came close to both.

"Golf's not really my game," Morrison said after teaming with pro Lee Trevino and amateurs Arnold Gary and T. J. Silva. And one man couldn't be more correct. But as most pro-ams are, it was all in fun.

And, Morrison had as much fun as anyone. The only time Morrison's team saw him was when they were on the tee. The rest of the time, he was either in the woods, in- ditches, in sand traps or out of bounds. By RON SPEER Associated Press Sports Writer Gary Player plans to quit the pro golf tour when he's 40, but the 32-year-old South African says he feels right now that he could play forever. "No man on the pro tour is more physically fit than I am," Player said after shooting a 64 in the Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament at the Pensacola Country Club layout, a prelude to the $80,000 Pensacola Open which starts today.

"And I'm putting better than I ever have in all my career," added tJie compact little veteran, a member of golf's "Big Three" but winless on the tour since he captured the 1965 U. S. Open. "The reason I haven't been winning is because I don't play very much in this country," Player said. "You can't win if you don't play, and in the last two years I've played a total of only 24 tournaments.

"I will play in 15 this year," added Player. "I'll probably quit playing competitive golf when I'm 40," he said. "If I lived in America I probably would play until I am 50, but it is too difficult when I have to leave my family and my ranch and come over here." Player, only member of the "Big Three" bidding for the Pensacola title Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus passed up the tournament is making his second U. S. start this year.

He tied for 16th in the Citrus Open last week. "My putting is better," he said, "because I have changed my putting stroke. I'm not jabbing at the ball like I was. "I hope to have my game pretty strong by the time of the Masters," which will be played next month. "I really played well," Player said after shooting his 64.

"If I had putted a little better I could easily have shot a 60. "I'm not complaining, because I was putting well, but I did miss at least seven putts of 10 feet or under." GARY PLAYER fit THE PENSACOLA NEWS Pensacola Open Brings Vets, Rookies Together $lfXD(r(l8 golf's veterans and young hopefuls. Jack Fleck of Los Angeles and Johnny Trish of Pensacola are examples of the old- By LUTHER GOLDEN News Sports Writer The Pensacola Open has brought together professional timers. Although these golfers still love the game, there is not the excitement in their voice that is in the voice of the young pro hoping to make Thursday, March 21, wmsmmmaaaaamtm mmr 1 Jf )0 Player's 64 Highlights Pro-Am Play Pairings and tee times for Friday's second round play in the $80,000 Pensacola Open. NO.

1 TEE 7:30 a.m. John Trish, Bob Dickson, Gibby Gilbert. 7:38 a.m. Jim Gillis, Larry Wise, Everett Vinzant. 7:46 a.m.

Bob Stanton, Jimmy Picard, Dean Refram. 7:54 a.m. Dick Lotz, Darren Hickock, Bill Kittleman. 8:02 a.m. Rod Funseth, Dave Ragan, Bill Collins.

8:10 a.m. Chi Chi Rodriguez, Dick Hart, Jack Fleck. 8:18 a.m. Dave Marr, Doug Ford, Dick Crawford. 8:26 a.m.

Doug Sanders, Butch Baird, Al Balding. 8:34 a.m. George Archer, Bobby Nichols, Ken Still. 8:42 a.m. Lee Elder, Bob Keller, Bob Murphy.

8:50 a.m. John Josephson, Jim Grant, Larry Mowry. 8:58 a.m. Bobby Burch, Juan Gonzalez, Herb Hooper. 11:30 a.m.

Maurice Hudson, Dick Hanscom, Orville Moody. 11:38 a.m. Bobby Mitchell, Dave Eichelberger, Fred Mar. ti. 11:46 a.m.

Steve Bull, Joe Kirkwood John Lively Jr. 11:54 a.m. Bob Lunn, Mal-c 1 Gregson, Sam Carmi-chael. 12:02 p.m. Dudley Wysong, Al Johnston, Bob McAllister.

12:10 p.m. Don Massen-gale, Harold Henning, George Bayer. But Morrison took it all in stride. On par-3, seventh hole, Morrison hit a root farther than the ball. As a matter of fact, the ball didn't even move.

But, not like most golfers, the 30-year-old veteran of the NFL addressed the ball again as if nothing had happened and hit his next shot 50 yards over the green and about 50 yards to the right. To keep the match moving along, Morrison just picked his ball up and strolled over to the No. 8 tee to wait for his partners to finish the hole. But like Joe said after the match, "I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed being in Pensacola. These were fine people I played with." 3 Plays a Great Game So after Joe gave a short run down on his golf game and it was brief, we got on the subject Morrison knows best football.

Morrison not only knows football but he plays a great game. The Lima, Ohio, native is a nine-year veteran of the Giants a team that has had its ups and downs since Morrison has been a member. Morrison was with the team when they were on top 1963 when the Giants won the Eastern Division title but lost to the Chicago Bears for the NFL crown. The husky, do-it-all back was with the team when they were down 1966 when they finished last in the Eastern Division, with a 1-12-1 record. But the Giants are on the way back.

At least that's the way Morrison sees it. "We had a fine club last year," Morrison said. The Giants finished second in the Century Division with a 7-7 record. "A couple of breaks here and there and we could have been right in there. "Getting Tarkenton (Fran) helped a lot last year and our offensive line did a great job," Morrison said.

Tarkenton was acquired from the Minnesota Vikings during the off-season and gave the Giants something they've needed since Y. A. Tittle retired several seasons back. "No one player in the line was a standout, they all did a great job and like I said, Fran helped a lot. "Next year? I really don't know, but I think we have the makings of a good team.

I don't know any of the drafts we picked, but if some can help a little and the rest of the team played like we did last season, then we should be all right," Morrison concluded. Morrison knows his football, but golf, well that's a game that should relax the NFL player during the off-season. But the way Morrison plays, you don't get to relax much. But you get in a lot of walking and a lot of swinging. But Joe had fun, and so did the people following him.

Ken Stabler Signs Raider Contract Gary Player showed the rest of the touring professionals what they can expect for the next four days as the little South African fired an eight-under-par 64 to win individual pro honors 'n the Celebrity Pro-Am at Pensacola Country Club Wednesday. Player, making only his second appearance on the pro tour this year, carded nines of 32-32 to nip Orlando's Dave Ragan by one stroke for the $350 first prize money. Regan collected $300 for his second place finish in the in-' dividual competition. Pro Bill Collins' team Jim Edwards, Jim McCurtain and Gilbert Brown took top money in the pro-am action with a 19-under-par 53. Tied for third in individual play were Jacky Cupit, Harold Henning, George Archer, Jack McGowan, Doug Sanders and Dan Sikes.

This group carded 67s over it big. Fleck is best remembered for his 1955 U.S. Open victory over Ben Hogan in an extra round. He turned pro in 1939 and is unsure of his future on the tour. Fleck, 46, has been a club pro for the past four summers in the Chicago area, but decided to rejoin the tour, "I'm having fun.

It's like learning to play golf again, going back on the tour like this," said Fleck. "I've been playing horribly, and there's only one way for my game to go, and that is up. "I will play up to the Masters, (he is not eligible to play in the Masters) then take a break. I'll then decide whether to go back on the tour." Trish has played in all but one of the Pensacola Opens since 1956 and is hoping that he gets a good start, as he did in 1966. In '66, Trish shot an opening-round 69 and was three under par going to the last hole of the second round.

However, Trish took a dis-actrous eight on that hole and missed the cut by one A stroke. Two of the younger players competing here are Jack Montgomery of Fort Worth, and Lee Elder of Washington, D.C. This is Elder's first year on the tour and he thinks tour life is "wonderful." Many pros do not like the traveling involved in playing tour golf, but Elder does. "It's exciting to see something new every week," said Elder, one of the few Negroes on the PGA circuit. "I love the greens here.

They are the best greens we have played. I'd like to plow up these greens and take them with me." This is Montgomery's fourth season on the tour and is his most productive mon- the par-72 PCC layout, scene of the 72-hole Pensacola Open today. DOUG SANDERS PRACTICES SIGNING HIS NAME signs autographs after Celebrity Pro-Am at PCC (Pensacola News photo by Maternal Peacocks, Flyers Picked In NIT Action Tonight By MIKE RECHT NEW YORK (AP) St. Pe Obrovac, a 6.6 point a game scorer, dropped in 30 in the triumph over West Virginia and then hit six straieht free throws ter's and Dayton, their big surprises uncovered, are the fancy and the favorite against rugged in the final 2Vi minutes to beat Kansas and Notre Dame in to the start of the season," averages 23 points per contest and better than that here. "We'll put Dwight Murphy on May and Bob Whitmore (6-7) on Obrovac," Coach Johnny Dee of the Irish said.

And Notre Dame has proved it can play tight man-to-man defense by upsetting Army and Long Island U. to surprisingly reach the semis in their first NIT. Fordham. "We started him in most of 12:18 p.m. Kermit Zarley, Ken Venturi, Ray Floyd.

12:26 p.m. Gay Brewer, Jack McGowan, Jack Cupit. 12:34 p.m. Bert Weaver, Billy Maxwell, Don Whitt. 12:42 p.m.

Joe Moresco, John Cook, Bob Boldt. 12:50 p.m. Bobby Cole, Downing Gray, Labron Harris. 12:58 p.m. Al Kelley, Gr don Jones, Will Homenuik.

NO. 10 TEE 7:30 a.m. Phil Ferranti, Bob Moreland, Gib Kizer. 7:38 a.m. Jerry McGee, Tom Shaw, Dan Keefe.

7:46 a.m. Wayne Yates, Johnny Stevens, Rocky Thompson. 7:54 a.m. Dewitt Weaver, John Schlee, Frank Boynton. 8:02 a.m.

Lou Graham, Bob Verwey, Phil Rodgers. 8:10 a.m. Chuck Courtney, Tommy Jacobs, Mike Souchak. 8:18 a.m. Ted Makalena, Lionel Hebert, Howie Johnson.

8:26 a.m. Homero Blancas, Chick Evans, Rex Baxter. 8:34 a.m. Jack Montgomery, Bert Greene, John Lotz. 8:42 a.m.

Richard Martinez, Skee Riegel, Dale Douglass. 8:50 a.m. Steve Reid, Dick Carmody, Bill Ezinicki. 8:58 a.m. Chuck Matlack, Dick Cline, Fred McDuffie.

11:30 a.m. Ed Davis, Carl Lohren, Charlie Houts. 11:38 a.m. Roy Pace, Bob Stone, Jim Weichers. 11:46 a.m.

Mya Aye, Ray Botts, Ed Kroll. 11:54 a.m. Tony Jackloin, Billy Farrell, Jim Colbert. 12:02 p.m. Marty Fleck-man, Freddie Haas, Jay Hebert.

12:10 p.m. Dan Sikes, Dick Mayer, Dow Finsterwald. 12:18 p.m. Tom Nieporte, Mason Rudolph, Pete Cooper. 12:26 p.m.

Gardner Dickinson, Gary Player, Dave Stock-ton. 12:34 p.m. Steve Oppermann, Lee Trevino, Deane Be-man. 12:42 p.m. Larry Ziegler, John Felus, Bob Erickson.

12:50 p.m. Peter Town-send, Monty Kaser, Dave Ma-rad. 12:58 p.m. Hugh Royer, Ron Cerrudo, Bob E. Smith.

night's semifinals of the Nation al Invitation Basketball the NCAA games last year, but eywise. He placed second this year in the Phoenix Open. "I am putting well, but the rest of my game fluctuates," said Montgomery. The Texan is yet to win a tournament. ne didn last long," said Dayton Coach Don Donoher.

"He's a The small, but amazingly thousand times better now." quick Peacocks probably an underdog but a gallery favorite May," who "was a tick off at meet defensive-minded Kan sas after the Flyers oppose Notre Dame and its stubborn de fense in the doubleheader at Madison Square Garden. The winners meet Saturday at p.m., EST, in the final on na Clay Eyes 2nd Straight Boxing Victory Tonight BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -Ken Stabler, former University of Alabama quarterback, signed a two-year contract with the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League Wednesday night. Terms of the contract were not announced but Stabler apparently received a bonus. He was also drafted in baseball by the Houston Astros of the National League and said earlier he would determine whether to play baseball or football by which bidder offered him the best contract.

Stabler, from was signed by Ron Wolfe, director of player personnel for the AFL champion Raiders, after day-long consultations between Wolfe and Stabler's attorneys. Wolfe said the Raiders expected Stabler to fit well into their organization "if he improves as we expect him to improve." The player personnel director said Oakland drafted Stabler "as a quarterback, nothing else." One of Stabler's attorneys, Jack E. Propst, said Houston made a "very attractive" offer but that "Ken felt that Oakland gave him the best opportunity for his long range situation." Propst said Stabler was im- tional television. The losers meet for third place at noon. PRO MONEY WINNERS 64 Gary Player, $350.

65 Dave Ragan, $300. 67 Jacky Cupit, Harold Henning, $1 9 0.84 each; George Archer, Jack McGowan, Doug Sanders, Dick Sikes, $190.83 each. 68 Homero Blancas, Bill Collins, Doug Ford, Jim Grant, Dave Stockton, $102 each. 69 Lionel Hebert, Bob Keller, Jack Montgomery, Kermit Zarley, $18.13 each; Gay Brewer, Ray Floyd, John Schlee, Mike Souchak, $18.12 each. OTHER PRO RESULTS 70 Hugh Royer, Howie Johnson, Ted Makalena, Rocky Thompson, Chuck Courtney, Jay Herbert, Steve Oppermann, Mason Rudolph, Lee Trevino.

71 Phil Rodgers, Bobby Nichols, Ken Still, Jim Colbert, Lou Graham, Billy Maxwell, Gardner Dickinson Chi Chi Rodriguez, Marty Fleckman, Dow Finsterwald. 72 Frank Boynton, Rives McBee, Tommy Jacobs, Dave Marr, Steve Reid, Ken Venturi. 73 Dudley Wysong, Bob Ver-wey, Harold Kneece, Deane Be-man. 74 Fred Haas. 75 Dean Refram.

76 Bill Ezinicki. 77 Dale Douglass. Few expected St. Peter's to get this far, but few knew the Peacocks could run like they do. The New Jersey school, utilizing a rocketing fast break, swept aside Marshall and stunned top-seeded Duke.

KEN STABLER two-year pact pressed with Oakland Coach John Rauch, who visited Stabler a few weeks ago at Tuscaloosa. "I'm not sure he was swayed somewhat by Coach Rauch's personality and by the fact that Oakland has a fine organization and is a winner. "Ken's real happy that he's finally made his decision," Propst added. "Now he knows in which direction his future lies." Stabler was a 1 a 's second-round draft choice and was selected in the first round of the baseball draft by And the Peacocks, their tall est starter at 6-foot-5, unveiled Vernon Clay of New Orleans heads a six-bout fight card Thursday night at the Municipal Auditorium. The 208-pound heavyweight, who will be going for his second straight victory here, fights Jimmy Idelette 190, Orlando, in a 10-rounder.

Idelette is a sparring go Charger quarterbacks John Hadl and Kay Stephenson will referee the amateur matches. Also, there will be an eight-minute fashion show featuring women's summer wear. The matches a co-sponsored by the American Legion and the Bell-view Lions Club. partner for Jimmy Ellis, who meets Jerry Quarry for the World Boxing Association version of the heavyweight championship April 27 at Oakland. There will be four professional matches and two amateur bouts, with the action getting underway at 8:15 p.m.

San Die Elnardo Webster, who caught the crowd's fancy by scoring 30 points in the two games. Dayton, on the other hand, the runner-up in the NCAA tourney last year and a favorite here, has second team All-Amencan Don May and its own surprise Dan Obrovac, a 6-10 center..