Wednesday, September 21, 1994 ~ North Shore News - 19 et On hometown golf champs and baseball lore Jim Kearney ANY es THE SPECTATOR IN EXPLANATION of, Part i: Woven through ali the cov- erage -—~ print and electronic — of the Canadian Open Golf Championship in Torouto earlier this month, was the constani reminder that no Canadian has won our grand national tourna- ment since Pat Fletcher did the deed in Vancouver in 1954, exactly 40 years ago. The Open has been von by Americans, Australians, South A whole season of bigh adventure awaits - on the new Harmony Express. Afticans and -= just 10 days ago — by a product of Zimbabwe, Nick Price. But by no Canadian since club pro Fletcher breezed in from Saskatoon in the summer of 54 and upset the field at the Point Grey club, From Stan Leonard to current campaigners Dave Barr and Dick Zokol, Canadians have won from time to lime on the U.S. PGA cir- cuit, But they have never won any of the three recognized majors down there —: the Masters, the U.S. Open and the U.S. PGA champi- onships. Leonard holds the distinction of having come the closest, finishing two strokes behind Masters winner Arnold Palmer in 1958 and in fourth place the following yeur, Nine times he was the top Canadian in the Canadian Open, but he never managed to win it. The only guy to do it was the unknown from Saskatoon, Fletcher. Actually, he was from Victoria, where he learned his craft as an assistant pro, before getting the head pro job at the Suskatoon Golf and Country Club. His win at Point Grey won him a promotion to the Royal Montreal ciub, where he was employed until his retirement. A nice, low-key guy. he died a few years ago. And for the rest of his life after 1954 he freely acknowledged that his brief fling with fame was due to unusual The Harmony Express increases our high-alpine aceess by oe [ Whistler Mountain Creekside Adult over 250%, with four spectacular bowls opening up right at your ski tips. Glacier Bowl, Sun Bowl, Symphony Bowl, and of course, Harmony Bowl. From wide-open cruising to the steep and deep, the Harmony cow busy for an entire Season Need ntore convincing? Ask about our exclusive Passholder Preferred Program. A whole list of special discounts are yours when you are a Whistler or Dual Mountain Passholder - savings on lessons, lunch, ski camps and mors, Ask us for details. Whistler Mountain Unlimited Adult Unlimited Adult Early Bird prises in effert until Sept. 26, L994 —--—S circumstances, He didn't exactly beat atop quality Feld. The explanation may be known to old-time golfers hereabouts, The year he won also was the year Vancouver hosted the Commonwealth Games. The dates for the Open were re-jigged to have- the tournament played in the week leading up to the Games, But this tailed to coincide with tie U.S. PGA Tour schedule, which had another tournament marked in for the same time, Asa result, all the big name players of that era — George Bayer, Tommy Bolt, Julius Boros, Bruce Crampton, Dave Marr, Gary Player, Sam Snead, Art Wail and company —- played in the American tournament. Fletcher was up against a field of fellow club pros, most of them from Canada. It raade his job much easier, Ever since then the Canadian Open has been part of the tourna- ment trail, as it was for many years before Pat's win, With everything back to normal the following year, a young fellow from Latrobe, Pa., resumed the tradition of non- Canadians always winning the Canadian Open. It was Arnold Palmer's first win as a Tour profes- sional. Two wecks ago he turned 65, My, how time does fly. 'n Explanation of, Part 1: The baseball season is done and there'll he no World Series next month for Dual Mountain $839 | the first lime since L904, There's a coincidence for you: 1904 was the inaugural year of the Canadian Open. [t also was to have been the sec- ond year of the World Series between the champions of the brash new American League, founded in 1901, and the long established National League, which got into business in 1876, All the tearfie prase you have read and heard on the cancellation of the 1994 Series kept mentioning that the only other time this bap pened was 90 years ago, in 1904, Bul none of it even mentioned why it happened. An explanation is in order, The series was lo have been played between the Boston Pilgrims, who later became the Red Sox, and the New York Giants. One proolem: the owner of the Giants, a man named John T. 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