New-York tribune., 1906-07-11
BIG GOLF PATTLE ON.
PARTRIDGE LEADS FIELD.
1rauers Plays Through Heavy
Storm in Brilliant lStyIe.

q .
ford Golf Club. led the field the end of the FIRST
days play in the twelfth annual championship
tournament Of tho United States Golf Association
on the links of the Englewood Golf Club yesterday.
lie returned an ls-hole Of 75. two strokes
better than Walter j. Travis. of Garden city, who
nhished second e. r. Van Week. jr OF Montclair.
hhished third, with 7s Jerome d. TFavers. the
metropolitan champion and the favorite for the
title' made an So F. NJ Byegs of Pittsburg,
mao The same score. while H. Chandler Egan, the
national title holder cid 81
one hundred and thrty-one amateurs teed up for
the start, and CT this number all save eight re-
turned cards.
There we're twenty-nne with scores ef 81 or BET
ter The rather high scoring is aecou,,ed for bv
.ie violent Storm which broke over the links early
"a the afternoon. About half of the contestants
lino hnished when the rain began to fall. but the
liners I'- mad TO play through veritable deluge
"ate: was encountered everywhere. and in
some OF the low places there were miniature lakes
i1sah' Travis and more than fifty others were
lo'tuhate enough TO finish ahead OF the storm
nose Who failed TO score we'll had TIE sympathy
~ sne early starters, but as one of the drenohed
5"iefS remarked. sympathy lid not count for much
attef The rciInd was eye- ana the score spoiled
I'dNers had to do nearly all his playing in the
deIuee while the rain oyel took Byers when he had
thIee holes to go. Travers accepted the handicap
cheerfuiiy, AMI when friend asked him if the
grips or his clubs did get wet he remarked
with smile, Yes. everything got wet" Under
me circumstances his score was the feature Of the
uay lie played sterling golf. and more than salts
'.l @ ms toHoWers' who are counting him to win
Inc seVenty-hve made by Partridge came as a
surprise TO many, but this college golfer who a
little more than year ago won the interscbolastic
championship at Garden City is capable of plaving
the fastest kind Of golf. He has been returned an
open tournament winner on various occasions in
the past His game yesterday was as sound as a
rock and three puts on one green was his single
mistake
Travis played his usual careful and deliberate
game lie rarely got off the line with his wooden
clubs, and when it to the short game his puts
II they did not go down. were always knocking at
the door,
Egan's rather ordinary score made when the
conditions were ideal, may be easily explained A
sliced second short going TO the seventh hole was
responsible for his first T. Again. going TO the long
tenth hole, his second shot left the bail in an al
most unplayable position among the roots Of a
large tree Two strokes were wasted here. so that
the best ne could do was another T.
On several occasions the champion was green shy
on MS approaches, mistakes that were partially
accounted for by the different nature of the turf
1t is necessary to get the ball away more cleanly
here than in the West where the thicker turf
enables one to play the shot deeper.
With that rare ability to pull himself together
Egan saved strokes on several occasions. After a
badly pulled second shot going to the first hole he
laid his next dead and got four. The short eighth
hole only required two strokes, thanks to a good
put. From the fourteenth tee his drive just a bit
pulled left him stymied behind tree. Rather than
lose stroke by playing out he decided to take a
chance and play for the green. He brought the
shot off beautifully. keeping the ball so low as TO
pass under the branches but with sufficient force
TO carry the bunker
Playing the home hole Egan almost hoied out IN
one his iron tee shot tricling past the pin by the
narrowest of margins. He got easy two. In
speaking of his play at the end of the round Egan
modesy expressed the belief that he would he able
to do little better Tomorrow. He claims to be un-
certain with his irons this season. To offset this
plays his wooden clubs with a deal more confidence
than when he went successfully through the ma
tional tournaments at Batusrol and Wheaton
Never in the history Of amateur golf champion
ships in this country did the first day of a tOurna-
ment begin more auspiciously and end so disnally.
1t the hardest kind of luck for the lac start
ers and. urder the circumstances there is no tell
ing how low the scores might have run. According
TO the rules of golf there Is nothing TO do but to
play regardless of weather To tarry invites dis
qualification. There several who deliberately
quit rather than continue under the conditions
trants Charles B. Macdonald of Garden City,
q former national champion This left Egan and
in the tourney All the United States Golf Asso-
citation officials. including Ransom II. Thomas the
Samuel Y. Heebner. the treasurer. were on hand
and they were kept busy getting the pairs away at
The Withdrawals were W. c. Carnegie ST. An
drews; P. H. B. Frelnghuysen Morris County;
Williams. Yountakah; G. Lorillard. Tuxedo; Z. F.
Gedney, North Jersey Country Club, and c. S. Lee,
Conditions call for another eighteen-hole medal
play round to-day, and, with anything like faVora
Die weather the pace is Is bound % to be fast Those
make every possible effort 10 get in low totals. in
two. The scores were as follows: