THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF SPORT

A DUEL ON THE SEA

Off the coast of Florida, baseball's Ted Williams and golf's Sam Snead sail forth in a fight for fish

Ted Williams, the finest natural hitter in baseball, and Sam Snead, the finest natural hitter in golf, got around to settling a long-standing dispute: Who is the better fisherman? The wrangle began when Williams returned from Korea to hear that Snead, Williams' partner in a tackle company, had set the record for the biggest bonefish ever caught on a 12-pound test line. Williams quipped, "Why I've caught more fish than Sam has missed short putts." To back up his claim, Williams challenged Snead to a two-day sailfishing contest. Last month, working from separate boats off West Palm Beach, Williams and Snead fought their "grudge match." On the first morning Williams caught one sail, but Snead landed two in the afternoon to take the lead. "Say, Bush," inquired Sam that night, addressing his partner with his favorite epithet, "why don't you hit to left field?" Early in the second day, Snead caught three more to take a 5-1 lead. In the late afternoon, Ted came on fast when he hooked sails on two rods (above) and landed them while Sam watched from his boat. But that was the ball game. The score: Snead 5, Williams 3; or, to put it Sam's way: Snead 2 up.

One for the hat (a sailfish, that is) leaps from the water in an attempt to shake free from Fisherman Snead.

ONE MAN'S ESPERANTO

One of the ranking gypsies in the peripatetic world of golf is Paul Hahn, a young, high-geared, personable ex-circuit pro who is generally regarded as the greatest trick-shot golfer since Joe Kirkwood, the Australian who founded the profession. A few months ago, after having previously restricted his travels to Hawaii, the Caribbean countries and 45 of the 48 states, Hahn undertook his first large-scale international exhibition tour. Embarking and disembarking from airplanes at an almost Dullesian tempo, Hahn gave exhibitions on four continents within the space of 60 days in the course of fulfilling one-day stands before golfing enthusiasts in such diverse climes as Vancouver, London, Carnoustie, The Hague, St. Cloud (outside of Paris), Rome, Cairo, Bagdad, Bangkok, Hong Kong (where he performed in the shadow of Red China), Nagoya (Japan), Manila and Guam. "I discovered no one is exaggerating when they claim golf is an international language," Hahn says. "I played on all sorts of courses with all kinds of caddies but, as Bob Hope put it, I never left home."

Japanese girl Caddie carries a shoulder bag containing a mixture of dirt, grass seed and fertilizer with which she is instantly able to refill all of course's divot holes.

HAHN PERFORMS HIS STUFF IN A SETTING THAT HAS ALL THE HALLMARKS OF HAPPY KNOLL BUT IS IN REALITY THE HONG KONG GOLF CLUB LOCATED ONLY THREE MILES FROM RED CHINA

At Royal Bagdad Golf Club, a handsome young native boy saddled with Hahn's colossal golf bag receives a jubilant riding from his fellow caddies. Bag weighs back-breaking 90 pounds, holds 23 assorted orthodox and trick clubs.

At Rome's Trevi Fountain, Hahn successfully pitches three golf balls instead of traditional coins.

TWO PHOTOS

HY PESKIN

FOUR PHOTOS