Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-04-04
GREATEST GOLFER
IS HA FRY VARDON
English Player Stood Alone as
a Leader for Several
Years.
The Caddie" in the Tattler.

1.-The Caddie'' in the Tattler.
Harry Vardon. there was once time
In your career when you stood quite
alone by yourself in the world of golf.
Facts and figures speak. and facts and
figures emphasized your right to be con-
sidered the greatest golfer Of your genera
ton. II not even the greatest golfer of all
time. as you exhibited such a superiority
over those you had to meet, and those
included Braid. Taylor and Herd among
others. that there was almost more than
justification in the belief of your admirers
that for a space of two or three years you
stood in class by yourself. Your deeds
cert ainly warranted this assumption, as
on whatever course you played there
was invariably the same old tale to tell,
viz, Harry Vardon first and the rest
anywhere; and in the years 1898 and
1880 your career was literally one tri-
umphal procession.
Then an episode occurred in your lie
which in the light of subsequent events
seems to have been the turning point In
your career 1t was your trip to the
states, as you never seem to have been
quite the same man since, and there can
our American cousins literally forced you
to live In your sojourn across the water
had a decided effect on a constitution
which was probably never too strong:
and q sick man cannot play golf as wen
as a sound one. In any case it seems to
take just sufficient edge off your game TO
bring you back to your fellow profes-
SIGNALS, and during recent years you have
had to rest content with a comparatively
equal distribution Of the spells Of the
game: in truth. you have certainly had
to give way in this respect to the present
CHAMPION and Taylor has had none of
you are still comparatively young, as you
were born In 1870. and as rumor has 1t
that your health Is more satisfactory
than it has been for years 1t Is more than
probable that you have not yet concluded
your championship successes, which even
now number four.
1t seems somewhat peculiar to say. but
still 1t is true. that you first came into
public recognition through your younger
brother Tommy. In 1892 and 1893 he was
looked upon as one of the most promising
Of the younger generation, and he I'M
doubtedly was, but with all his promise
he - always persisted that he had a
brother who not only had the makings
of a better player. but moreover actually
was a. better player at the very time
Naturally people wondered how 1t was
that he had not made his appearance on
the armament and winked their eye and
thought, -"Oh, another case of fraternal
Affection But Tommy was not far
wrong-certainly right in the assertion
that you had the markings of a better
player: you have Individually proved that.
The truth is opportunity had not come
your way, as when very young you did
not serve your apprenticeship to the pro-
fession, and you were sent away to an
obscure inland course in Yorkshire.
But when opportunity did knock at the
door you very soon grasped 1t with both
hands. Your first match Of Importance
was against Sandy Herd at Heysham. 1t
was your debut in this class of encounter,
and 1t was trying you somewhat highly,
as Sandy was undoubtedly at his best
was particularly anxious that you should
acquit yourself well, as l was mainly
responsible for your presence as Herds
opponent. You were badly defeated. but
wind and rain, was quite uncanny that
day. Your good friends at Bury, where
you were then employed. decided to give
you a chance in a homeland home match
against the Huddersf1eld man, and you
failed somewhat sadly. Firstly. in the
ignorance of inexperience. you decided to
get the worst over first, and winning the
choice elected to play the first half al
Huddersfeld. and you came away from
the Yorkshire green seven holes in ar
rears; not bad considering, but at Bury,
when Herd refused to allow you to get
any of this lead back, you threw up ...e
sponge and let him do literally as he
pleased. So your first two ventures were
not promising, but In the championship
at Sandwich in 1894 you had only four
players in front of you and again did well
at st. Andrews in 1895. :.
~
Your first big success came in the fol-
lowing year at Muirfeld. Herd and Tay-
lor were all the rage, and for the first
three rounds they played as if the cham
pionship lay between them, but you were
unobtrusively working your way to the
front, improving your position each sue
ceeding round, and the two favorites fall
ing away in the final stage, you just
managed to crawl up and tie with Tay-
lor, greatly to the surprise of everybody,
as the spectators left you almost alone to
your own sweet devices. In your final
round you had two devoted admirers at
the start, and actually ten who walked
the whole OF the last hole with you. You
beat Taylor in that play-off. and perhaps
you had every reason to thank those who
originated the idea that Taylor should
come up to Canton to play you just a
few weeks before the championship, as
the trouncing you then gave him would
not tend TO lessen your confidence.
From that time you never looked back.
and although you failed in the succeed
Ing year at Hoylake your second cham
pcnship fell to you in 1898 at Prestwick,
and at Sandwich. in the following year.
you simply outclassed the field. Then
came the memorable journey to America,
and from that time championships seemed
to become more difficult for you to win,
and you had to wait until 1903 before
your fourth and last success, victory,
In my opinion, the greatest of many In
your career, as at the time you were so
evidently sick man; in truth, your
health broke down sadly Immediately
afterward. Still you won with consum-
mate ease.
But though YOU have won no fewer
than four championships. 1 cannot but
think that it was more in matches of
less important character that YOU
evinced that extraordinary superiority
over all others. You had habit Of
making your opponents appear mere
sound, commonplace players, particu-
larly Taylor. who had the misfortune
more than once to suffer from the lash
of your brilliancy. Your place at the
Irish meeting at Portmarnock in 1899
bordered on the miraculous, and / have
heard that you yourself consider your