New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-07-13
TIE FOR LEAD At GOLF.
National Champion and Nichols
in Van of Strong Field.
KiRKBY SHOWS HIS CLASS
Amateur Makes Best Round Of
Day in Play for the Metro
politan Title.

An American and a BrHon divided hon
ors IN the first half Of the open champion
shin tournament of the Metropolitan Golf
Association on the links of the Englewood
Country Club yesterday. J. J. McDermott.
the national title holder representing the
Country Club OF Atlantic City. and Gilbert
Nichols. OF Wilmington led the field at
the end of the first thirty-six holes with
scores OF 1H.
Although beaten on the days total by
the narrow margin Of a single stroke
Oswald Kirkby. the Englewood amateur,
had the distinction OF returning the best
score Of the day, a brilliant 6s. made dur
ing the afternoon. II was all the more
creditable. following. as IT did, disap-
pointing early performance. due to an IN
fortunate circumstance while playing the
twelfth hole.
An idea OF the fast pace being set by the
leaders may be gathered when 1t Is re-
membered that nine Of the forty-elght
starters finished the thirty-six holes pet
ter than $50. James Thomson OF the
Philadelphia Country Club, with AS led
Jack Hobens. the home pro" by stroke.
Hobens was generally regarded as ike
" winner. but after getting Il In the morn
ing took four strokes more on his second
round.
The ever increasing prominence OF the
homebreds was noticeable in the EFFORTS
Of NJ. ]. Brady, OF Wollaston; Tom Nc
Namara, Of Boston. and William Hanley'
of New Haven. Brady had 1F. Hanley
14S and Mcnamara 149.
To return to Kirkby everything went
well in the morning until the fatal twelfth
hole was reached. for his card to that
point showed even IS. The trouble began
with a pulled drive which landed his ball
alongside OF the fifteenth tee box. From
its peculiar position Kirkby found IT next
to impossible TO touch the ball with his
club, and four strokes were wasted before
he finally got the rubber core to move
After that, the best he could get for the
hole was an s. Even then. Kirkby came
home IN 10. which gave him II for the
round.
There were no lapses 10 mar his after
noon performance, unless the extra puts
on the second and third greens be termed
such From there 10 the finish. however,
every hole was made in either or
b us three-spot at the sixteenth
which is well over four hundred yards.
seing especially creditable AS he holed a
good put for a on the home green
the Englewood champion received a liberal
round of applause from the gallery, for
when the ball sank out of sight, kirkby
had made the homeward pourney in %.
four under As and five strokes better than
par for the full round. Some months ago,
in a club competition at Englewood, Kirk
by made the round in 81, which stands as
the competitive record for the links. His
card Of So yesterday was as follows:
G o.. .............44 : ! $--$s$S -es
When the far-driving Nichols made the
morning round in an even TO- Il looked as
II the fair-hared Briton was at last due
20 shine. lie came near spelling 1t all,
however. in the afternoon when he made a
nash Of the second hole. getting into the
brook on his drive and taking G. Weak
putting at several other points helped run
up his total TO A. Gil was pretty well
brought up by that time, but he settled
dasn ap1 with characteristic grit came
home in g. This gave Nichols a.
Considerable interest centred in the eff
forts Of McDermott and Tom Mcnamara,
or the two Macs as they were frequently
called. They kept well together in the
morning McDermott getting 70 TO his part
ner's &c, and It was the same even going
throughout the first half Of the afternoon
round. both reaching the turn in s.. The
champions outward holes showed eight IS
and one 8, and he supplemented this string
with eight consecutive IS coming back; a
Gro az the seventeenth and a 2 on the
nome green enabled him to complete the
round I'm So His card was as follows: