The 1972 Memorial Tournaments (August 1972

Augusta, GA - August 26-27, 1972 - The two original members of the PPA Hall of Fame were honored in tournaments recently in Augusta, Georgia. On Saturday, August 26, the E.G. Clayton Memorial Tournament was held in memory of the late E.G. Clayton of Fayetteville, N.C., co-founder of Putt-Putt Golf Courses of America. And on Sunday, August 27, the Tracy Moore Memorial Tournament was conducted in memory of the 1965 PPA National Champion and Augusta Course Owner, Tracy Moore.

Robert Smith of Dallas, Texas won the match play E.G. Clayton Tournament. Smith, fresh from his spectacular victory in the 1972 PPA National Championship, defeated former World Champion and two-time National Champion Vance Randall of Chattanooga, Tennessee 2-1. Smith also defeated Harold Mikell of Fayetteville, Clyde Ryals of Augusta, and Roger Moore of Atlanta in his bid for first prize.

Robert Smith, winner of the E.G. Clayton Memorial Tournament.

Quarter-finalists in the event included local favorites Paul Marsh and Clyde Ryals along with Mikell, a top-ranking regional pro. The remainder of the quarter-finals field resembled a form of "Who's Who in Putting" - names such as Randall and Smith, Jimmy Harritos, John Connor and Dick Florin.

In the APA division of the same event, Roy Zerner of Baltimore topped such putters as Elton Davis of Burlington, N.C.; Robert Johnson of Greenville, S.C.; Glenn Brotemarkle of Augusta; and Bill Kirby of Fayetteville.

Gerald Knott, winner of the Tracy Moore Memorial Tournament.

For Sunday's Tracy Moore Tournament, Robert Smith's putting comrade Gerald Knott of Dallas cruised past the all-star field for a two-stroke victory over Charles McIntosh of Conyers, Georgia, runner-up to the recent World Putting Championship and Macon, Georgia's Herman Strickland.

Both Knott and Robert Smith had appeared in Augusta shortly after the World and National Championship events to practice for the memorial tournaments. The courses in Augusta were probably the most difficult anywhere on the PPA tour. Their practice efforts proved fruitful by earning each man a victory in the events.

After the tournaments both Knott and Smith jokingly voiced concern over how they could get all their trophies on the airplane to make the return trip to Dallas.

Among the amateurs in the Tracy Moore Memorial event, National Amateur Champion David Gies handily topped Robert Johnson of Greenville, S.C., in a playoff for the first spot. Both men finished the regulation tournament with scores of 89 for 54-holes.

Harold Mikell, winner of two qualifying spots for the 1973 World Putting Championship.

Of particular interest in these events was the fact that Harold Mikell won qualifying spots for the 1973 World Putting Championship in both the Gulf Coast and Western Regions. A complete listing of all money winners and qualifiers is given below.

On hand for both events were Don Clayton, co-founder of Putt-Putt and son of E.G. Clayton; Don S. Clayton, grandson of E.G. Clayton; Jean Rayburn, widow of Tracy Moore; and Tracy's daughters, Kathy, Paula, and Patty.

As Board Chairman of the PPA, Don Clayton announced, "We sincerely feel that memorial tournaments of this type offer an excellent way of remembering those who have done so much for competitive putting. These two men, Tracy Moore and E.G. Clayton, made such tremendous contributions to this business and this sport that it seems only proper to remember then through tournaments conducted in their memory.

"In the future, we look toward making memorial tournaments of this sort a regular part of our schedule. Over the last 20 years, Putt-Putt has developed a tremendous heritage and we don't want that heritage to be forgotten."