Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-10
LATEST NEWS FROM
THE GOLF WORLD

NEW YORK, March 1O.-Cnless the un.
foreseen should happen. the coming sea-
son will go down as memorable one In
golf history Most important, or, at least,
of most general interest at this time, Is
the international phase of the game. of
which there are unmistakable signs of
activity along several lines.
The first installment of American wom-
an golfers sailed for the other side a few
days ago. They were three Boston ex-
perts-the Misses Phelps and Miss Alice
Underwood. Later Miss Margaret Cur
tbs. the national titleholder. and her sis
ter Harriet. the former champion may
decide to repeat their visits of year ago.
From this vicinity. Miss Elsa Hurlbut,
the we'll Unknown Morris county player. who
was secretary of the Women's Metropoli-
tan Golf Association last year, will sail
shortly
Something decidedly novel. however. is
the proposed invasion Of the foreign links
by number of prominent college boys.
Ellis Knowles of Yale. the present inter-
collegiate champion. and w. T. West of
Princeton will head team Of American
collegians. They may be joined by Rob-
ert Abbott Of Yale. w. II. Wilder and w.
Fellowes Morgan, jr.. of Harvard and
Ralph Peters. jr. of Princeton. AS the
golfers mentioned are among the best IN
the college world on this side of the At
lantic. they would constitute a team in
every way representative.
Parents May Object.
Plans relative to this trip are now being
perfected. The players are keen to go.
and the only thing that may stand in the
way is the securing of parental consent.
The only previous instance on record
where rival collegians of this country
and Great Britain met in international
conflict on the links was in 1903. when
the Oxford-Cambridge team made its
memorable visit to America. How well
this team, SO ably captained by John l..
Low acquitted itself while here is to this
day the subject of frequent nineteenth
hole sessions The visitors. it will be re-
membered, won every match they played
save one, and among their victims was a
team representing the intercollegiate Golf
Association.
There has been a marked advancement
in the game in this country since then, es-
pecially among the college boys. H.
Chandler Egan twice won the nat1ona
championship while a student at Harvard,
and only last July w. r. West of Prince
ton had every one guessing because OF his
sensational rounds in the national tourna-
ment at Euclid. The players who are ike
ly to go abroad next summer are unques-
tionably strong. both individually and COL
lectively. Abbott has been famous FOR sev-
eral years as titanic driver. His reach
ing of the second green at the Nassau
Country Club during the last intercol-
legiate championship with drive and a
cleek is an instance of his prowess. This
hole is 500 yards long and uphill.
Mystery Over Professionals.
Just at present an air of mystery per-
vades the professional atmosphere. Some
time ago there was a rumor floating
round to the effect that Massey, Braid.
Vardon and Taylor. the big four" on the
other side were likely to come here for
the open championship. which is to be
held over the links of the Myopia Hunt
Club, near Boston, the last part OF
August Since then the briefest kind Of a
dispatch reached here that the quartet
mentioned would not visit America for
the open. Ordinarily, that would close
the incident but there are reasons for the
belief that not only the Myopia Club, but
the United States Golf Association, may
find it advantageous to make overtures
of an exceptional nature to the foreign
experts.
That there is discomfort among the resi-
dent and native born professionals no one
can deny. The trouble began in 1905,
when the open was last held at Myopia,
SIGNALS were not treated fairly by the
club. In fact. the pros were not ac-
corded any of the clubhouse privileges,
not even being allowed to use the. tele-
phone. Several of the leading profession
ais OF the country have announced their
intention not to compete in this year.
open. and plans are under way toward
some sort of concerted action. The ques-
ton has been presented to William Nor
ton. president Of the Eastern Professional
Golfers Association.
Should the latter organization decide In
favor of a boycott the chances are that
majority of the players would stay
away. OF course. there is little doubt
that the open will be held as scheduled.
no matter how slim the entry may be. but
the presence of several of the leading
players of Great Britain would lend a tone
and class to the Myopia affair, and GER
tainly all who have ever watched a round
of expert golf would welcome a visit of
the four experts mentioned. This tourna-
ment, which gives all a chance to COM
pete for the open championship Of the
United States. is annually becoming more
important. AS for Myopia. no links In
the country assures fairer result.