Marvin M. (Vinny) Giles, III

Marvin M. (Vinny) Giles, III, of Richmond, Va., after nine years of disappointment, won the Championship at the Charlotte Country Club, Charlotte, N.C., with a one-over par total of 285, three strokes ahead of runners-up Ben Crenshaw, of Austin, Texas, and Mark S. Hayes, of Fort Jackson, S.C.

Marty West, of Washington, D.C., was fourth. Since 1964, when he was co-medalist, Giles had been runner-up three times (1967-68-69), was third in 1971, and sixth in 1970.

Giles was four strokes off the lead after the first round with a 73 to 69s by Greg Stuhler, of Atlanta, Ga., and Mark Pfeil, of Palos Verdes, Calif. In the second round, however, Giles shot 68, equaling the best round of the Championship. Only Charlie Harrison, of Atlanta, Ga., matched it. Giles was then a stroke ahead with 141. Bruce Robertson, of San Mateo, Calif., was second at 142, and Bob Bryant, of Charlotte, was third at 143.

In the third round Giles began as if he would run away from the field; he birdied the second by holing a 12-foot putt, the fifth on a 40-footer, the seventh with another 12-footer, and the tenth. He was then five strokes up on his closest pursuers, Robertson and Hayes.

Giles then bogied the next three holes and completed the round in one-over par 72 and 213 for 54 holes. He was a stroke ahead of Hayes, two ahead of Robertson, and four ahead of Crenshaw and West.

In the final round Hayes took the lead with a birdie on the third hole after Giles went a stroke above par on the second. Hayes increased his lead to two strokes with a birdie on the 7th, but lost one of them when he bogied the 8th. After nine holes, Hayes was the leader, Giles was second, West was in third place, and Crenshaw was fourth.

Giles drew even again when Hayes bogied the 10th hole. Then he hit a 4-iron shot to within four feet of the 13th hole and made a birdie, and stroked a wedge shot five feet from the hole on the 14th for another birdie. After 68 holes he stood three strokes ahead of Hayes, four ahead of Crenshaw, and five in front of West. Robertson, who had taken a 40 on the first nine, was out of contention.

On the 15th Giles took a double-bogie 6, but Hayes made a 5, so Giles still had a two-stroke lead with three holes to play. It was all over when Giles hit a 6-iron second shot out of the rough onto the 16th green and holed an 18-foot putt for a birdie. He bogied the 17th, but it was inconsequential, for he had a three-stroke lead with one hole to play.

The Amateur field changes very rapidly. Although Bill Campbell, of Huntington, W. Va., was playing in his 29th Amateur Championship, 62 per cent of those who answered a questionnaire posed by the USGA were playing their first Amateur and 14 per cent were competing for only the second time. Of the 150 who played in 1971, only 29 were in the field at Charlotte.

The age range is interesting, also. Twenty per cent were under 19 years of age; 19 per cent were in the 20-21 bracket; 15 per cent were 22-24; 16 per cent were 25-29, while the remainder were 30 and over.

In summary, 70 per cent were under 30. The entry reached 2,295. Gary Cowan, of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, the 1971 Champion, decided to devote more time to his family and business and did not compete.