The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-08-28
VARDON AND RAY
GOING TO BOSTON
Star Golfers from Across the Water Viii
Play at Brookline Country Club
Next Week.

Boston, Aug. 2S.-Among the first ar
rivals in Boston for the annual open golf
championship tournament of the United
States Golf association, to be held this
year at the Country club, Brookline,
Sept. 1919, will be Harry Vardon and
Edward Ray, the English professionals,
who have come to this country on pur-
pose to wrest from the native players,
if possible, the American professional
championship title. Both of these Eng
lish players are taking the coming tour
nament most seriously, and while they
have accepted a few engagements 20
play in exhibitions in other sections,
their chief mission while here is to win
the national title, and they intend to
put in at least ten days before the
| tournament opens carefully acquainting
themselves with every foot of the Coun-
try club course and with every blade of
grass, as it were
The presence of Vardon and of Ray
as well as of some other golfers of in
ternational reputation, has caused a ire
mendous amount of interest to be al
ready exhibited in this years tourna-
ment-far more interest, in fact, than in
any former year. On the form they
showed at the Shawnee tournament last
week, many have been inclined to count
both players out of the running for
the championship title. This is likely to
prove serious mistake.
Harry Vardon, playing distinctly be-
low par on the green's, nevertheless re-
vealed form and capabilities that make
it possible for him to show clean pair
OF heels to the field. Yardon often puts
badly. For player of his calibre, he
less seldom puts extremely well than
others. But if he finds the good Brook
line greens suiting him, the finest golf
McDermott or Smith ever played will
be needed to lead him even a stroke.
In calculating his chances, one may dis.
regard Shawnee His 73-round there had
five missed puts of under five feet.
Ray Always a Contender.
Ray, too, was fit foe. Rays ire
mendous length with wood or iron makes
many a hole an easy three or four;
his marvellous ability at playing the ball
dead to the hole from sand, bunker or
rough grass saves many a penalty. He
certainly is not far back of Warden as
possibility and both are likely to be
well up in the money, even though de-
feated
Ray is commonly said to sway with
his shot. Close observation shows that
this is not exactly true. What really
happens is this. He comes to the top
of his back swing and just before start
ing on the forward stroke he cleans"
forward, but the swing does not start
till he has finished leaning into place
His body does not sway with the stroke,
but before it. Vardon should have the
call, owing to his perfection of line, but
stranger things have happened than
that Ray should win.
As for Louis Teller, the Frenchman,
who win land in this country this week,
and Reid and Abe Mitchell, who is to
play in the "open" also, their chances
should be figured as less than Vardon's
or Rays or McDermott's or Smiths.
mike" Brady, tom" Mcnamara,
Freddy" Mcleod, Isaac Mackie, George |
Sergeant. Gilbert Nichols, Jack" Ho- |
bens, "Tom" Anderson, Macdonald
Smith and willie" Smith are the line |
of secondary defense. Any one of them
on squirt is good enough to win the
title.
They should easily account for Reid,
Teller and Mitchell, leaving Vardon and
Ray the problem for McDermott and
Smith. The odds are against the Brit !
ons, but either is good enough to put the
joke on the odds.
Great International Interest.
The international interest of both |
these championships was never so great /
London papers. in fact, have sent expert /
here especially to cable |
full accounts of the contests. Well I
might Vardon say, as he did at Shawnee,
that American golf has progressed by
leaps and bounds since his tour here 10
years ago.
Jerome Travers may play at Brook
line though he has never shown fond
ness for open events. Should he do 80,
however, and play at his best, his name
will not be far down the list. He might
even duplicate the feats of Hilton and
Ball abroad and take the open, feat
never yet done by an American amateur.
"Chick" Evans once won the western
"open," but the real crown is yet to be
won hxr ii t,la,ar