Over There

Every summer, around the Fourth of July, the interest of U. S. sport fans focuses on the British Isles where three of the oldest and most important sport events in the world are usually going full swing: the Henley Royal Regatta, the British Open golf tournament and the All-England tennis championships.

At Henley. Oldest and toniest of the three is the Henley Regatta, this year celebrating its 100th anniversary. To row at Henley is the ambition of every oarsman in the world. Last week at that famed little spot 30 miles from London, where the Thames creeps between chalk hills, 50,000 gaily decked Britons turned out for the four-day regatta. With polite murmurs of "well rowed!", they watched U. S. oarsmen make a clean sweep of the three major races: the Grand Challenge Cup (Harvard's varsity crew), the Thames Challenge Cup (Tabor Academy of Marion, Mass.), and the Diamond Sculls (Joe Burk of Bridgeboro, N. J.).

At St. Andrews, royal & ancient cradle of golf, only three U. S. golfers were among the 240 who teed up their balls last week in the 74th British Open, world's No. 1 golf tournament. But when the field narrowed down to two, one of the finalists was an American: big Johnny Bulla, a Chicago pro who was playing in his first British tournament. After finishing his last round in 73 for a 72-hole total of 292, it looked as if an American would once again win the Open. But while Johnny Bulla fidgeted in the clubhouse and 5,000 Britons held their breath, Richard Burton, a Cheshire pro, ambled up to his ball on the 18th green, sank a long putt for a birdie 3 and a 71 that beat Bulla by two strokes.

At Wimbledon. Younger but more famed than Henley or the Open are the All-England tennis championships, held at hallowed Wimbledon for the 59th time last week. With Donald Budge playing for pay and Helen Wills Moody in retirement, U. S. stay-at-homes held out little hope for their Wimbledonians this year. But, after a fortnight of elimination matches, the two men who faced each other on the famed centre court were 21-year-old Bobby Riggs, U. S. No. 1, and Elwood Cooke, an unheralded 25-year-old Oregonian who had defeated France's Christian Boussus, England's Bunny Austin and Germany's Henner Henkel on his way to the final. Against his fellow countryman, however, Cooke faded. In a seesawing five-set struggle, Riggs finally won, 2-6, 8-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Next day in the women's final, U. S. No. 1 Alice Marble, after drubbing Poland's Ja-Ja Jedrzejowska and Denmark's Hilda Krahwinkel Sperling, defeated England's Kay Stammers, 6-2, 6-0, with the most brilliant tennis of the whole tournament. While 18,000 excited spectators compared Miss Marble to the late great Suzanne Lenglen, the new champion came back to the centre court to win the women's doubles (with Sarah Palfrey Fabyan) and the mixed doubles (with Bobby Riggs). Riggs & Cooke took the men's doubles to make a clean sweep of all fiveWimbledon titles.

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