Omaha daily bee., 1899-07-09
AMERICAN, KING OF THE LINKS
Home Bred Golfer Wins Championship for
First Time on Record.
SCOTCH PLAYER BEATEN AFTER HARD FIGHT
Victory of Long Island Contestant
May &c Far Toward Rendering the
Game Popular on This Side
of the Sea-.
SCOTCH PLAYER BEATEN AFTER HARD FIGHT

LAKE FOREST, ILL.,, July S.-Herbert M.
Hartman of the Meadowbrook Golf club OF
Hampstead, Long Island, today won the
amateur gold championship of America from
Findlay Douglass, who won the champion
ship last year. The score was three up,
two to play. The game was by long odds
the most exciting that has ever been played
in a western tournament and when the old
foot ball player finally hoed down on the
thirty-fourth, bringing the coveted cham
pionship to himself, the crowd broke into
enthusiastic cheering and Hartman was
nearly lifted off his feet by the attempts to
congratulate him
For the first time since amateur golf
championship tournaments have been held
an American born golfer holds the honors
and this fact was commented on by golfers
tonight, who believe it will go far toward
popularizing the game in the United States.
Harriman's work with the irons during the
morning game was pronounced the p~rettiest
seen during the tournament, although the
medal score, 81, was but one more than that
made by Douglass earlier in the week. But
Harriman's playing was a marvel OF steadi-
ness, and although Douglass almost invari-
ably outdrove him the difference was not
enough to materially affect the result, and
the Meadowbrook mans approaches forced
Douglass to play the odd in nearly every
instance. Old golfers, men who learned the
game on links in Scotland, pronounced Har-
riman's play superior to that ever shown
in a tournament in the United States and
fully equal to amateur playing in Scotland.
Douglas, on the contrary, especially during
the morning, was sadly out of form on his
putting, and although during the afternoon
he made a remarkably game uphill fight
the handicap Of eight down, the result OF
the mornings play, was too great for him
to overcome.
Conditions were far from favorable for
irst-class golf during the morning, the
high wind which swept over the links rem
dering good driving extremely difficult on
the first, second, third, tenth, eleventh.
twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth holes.
But this apparently did not affect the play
ing Of the men and their drives were nearly
always long and splendidfy placed.
But Douglass poor short iron work was
fatal. Time and time again during the
morning he lost holes or lost opportunities
to halve by missing puts of from one to two
yards. During the afternoon the young
Scotchman. with the score nine up, in favor
of Hartman, played desperately and slowly
reduced the lead.
But at last an error Of judgment settled
the question. On the thirty-fourth, the
baby" hofe, where Douglass had fallen in
the morning. he used his brassle and drove
far beyond into the trees, Hartman
smiled grimly as he saw the little gutta
percha ball light in the grove and taking
his mldiron he lifted his ball to a beautiful
lie s~quarely on the green. With that shot
disappeared Douglass last chance. for a
moment later Hartman holed his ball and
the game was fost and won.
Promptly at 1880 a. m. Douglass and