The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-16
HIGaESf HONOR OR GOEFTNG
AMATEURS AND PROFESSIONALS
IN RIVALRY THIS WEEK.
Americans at Philadelph In and Britishers
at HOyIake-Aleck Smith Has Crossed
the Atlantic 70 PIay-TO win Means
Moro Income and Enhanced Hepute.

Moro Income and Enhanced Hepute'
Once a year the pr OCCASIONAL and amateur
golfers. here and abroad, meet on equal
terms for the national title Of open cham
pion." For the first time the coincidence
happens that in America and England the
competitions are to be held on the same
d~ays-Thursday and Friday Of the present
week. The Britons will play at Hoylake'
and the field will include Aleck Smith OF the
Nassau Country Club. who won our open
championship last year. The American
contest will be on the course OF the Phila-
delphia Cricket Club. Smith must per-
force let slip his title undefended, but VIII
Anderson, who has won four times and
Lawrence Auchterlonie, the winner OF
1902, will be on from Chicago. while VIII
Smith, winner OF 1899. is TO be on hand from
the City of Mexico. where he is now the
I resident professional. Aleck Smith VIII DO
| missed, but there will be no lack OF worthy
aspirants in his absence. Two amateurs
| rave won the open championship abroad
| John Ball, Dr., in 1890. and H. H. Hilton IN
1892 and ls97-but the nearest to gain the
! title here was Walter j. Travis, who tied
with Stewart Gardner for second place in
1902, but Findlay s. Douglas and H. Chandler
Egan, the latter last year, have been placed.
| 1t is not known whether Egan will be at st.
Martins Green or not, but six amateurs OF
the East who are deemed to be formidable
in the pending contest are jerome D. IraV-
! ers, Walter j. Travis. Findlay s.. Douglas,
Fred Herreshof. A. G, Lockwood and ii.
W. Perrin, the record holder for the course.
Among the professionals the race is deemed
an equal one among at least twenty OF the
entrants.
The American competition is a free for
all, once the IS entrance lee is paid, of seven
seventy-two holes, medal play, but con-
testants whose scores at the finish OF Thurs
days thirty-six holes exceed by fifteen
btrokes the tenth place shall not continue
in the competition nor play in Fridays
I rounds. There will be in play the cham
pionship cup, a gold medal to the winners
of il ard 5000 in cash, divided into ten prizes,
of which the first money is $50. The second
| receives 500, and the prizes scale down TO
500 to the tenth scorer. The competition is
under the most e1acting conditions of golf,
! for there is none Of the give and a com
pensations of match play, under which a
par hole will atone for one in bungling
strokes. The player who comes nearest
to mechanically perfect golf and who does
not weaken under the strain will be the
winner; an exceptionally good round is too
often cancelled by three indifferent ones.
As the game is now played there is no OPP
portunity for four ordinary rounds to win;
instead, the record, or very close to it, must
he maintained for the entire seventy-two
holes.
The American competition has osclllated
very evenly between the East and West
and the winners a V come with a fair
equality from the clubs Of the two divisions
OF the country. Three English and nine
scotch pros nave won the title, which
has yet TO be won by one Of Ameri-
can birth. At Onwentsia, near Chicago.
last year. Aleck Smith won with 70. IA, 70,
1926, the lowest score ever recorded in
any open championship. His brother Will.
but for one round had a great chance, for
he scored 70, 81, "a. 1892. The West
claimed the next three best scores. j..
Auchterlonie. 3O5; James Maiden, Toledo,
305. and Will Anderson, 307. h last
named had won for three years running
rs the representative of the Apawamis
club and became the Onwentsia profess
sional lust before the competition. The
others TO gain prizes were Aleck Ross.
Boston, $40: Steward Gardner, Garden City.
81; H. Chandler Egan, Chicago. 3ls; Gil
Nichols. Denver, 3l3, and John Hobens.
Englewood, 3l4.
Anderson's setback was the feature OF
the Onwentsia tournament and each OF
the open competitions has had one out
! standing incident. Willie Dunn and Willie
Campbell we're on the top of the heap at
Newport in 1905, when the series began,
but the winner was Horace Rawlins,' a
kid who had never played in a tournament
before and who was Will Davis's assistant
in the club shop. c. B. Mcdonald wanted
TO wager that James Fouls. the Chicago
Golf Clubs entry, could outdrive any pro-
fessional at the Newport gathering. No
one took the bet, but the next year Fouls
proved his quality by winning the open.
played at Shinnecock Hills. Joe Lloyd,
who divides his year between Pau and the
Essex County Country Club, at Manches-
ter. Mass. won in 1897, but only by a stroke.
from Will Anderson, then in a round jacket
and al his first tournament, who holed
from the edge on the home green.
In 1898 the United States Golf Associa-
ton made the competition one distinct
from the amateur meeting, to which it had
been the tail of the kite, and increased il to
seventy-two holes, Aleck Smith has Just
come out from C~arnoustie and was with
Fred Herd. Of fame only as a clubmaker, at
Chicago. Smith was a favorite and many
bets were made. East versus West. But he
could not get the ball rolling right and the
Westerners only saved their bacon by the
unexpected success Of Fred Herd. Will
Smith won in gallant style next at Balti-
more. with three tied for second place,
George Low. Val Fitajohn and w. H. Way.
Harry Vardin and j. H. Taylor, visiting
English champions, were first and second
in 1900. Will Anderson, for about the only
time, was outside the money then, as he
tried too hard in order TO uphold the status
of the resident professionals. He won the
next year, but only after playing of a tie
with Aleck Smith. The rubber covered
ball was supreme in 1902. when Auchter-
Ionic gained the goal oman Eastern course.
Anderson won after a tie with David Brown
the next year. and he also scored best in
1904 and 1905. This is the list Of winners,
places and scores:
Year. Winner. cub. Venue. ,Soo,s
tlUs n naulInG NeuHNnVt $780,.