New-York tribune., 1913-09-14
Greatest Field in American
Golf History Will Tee Up
at BrookIine.
OPEN TITLE IS AT STAKE
Professionals and Amateurs
Out in Force to Meet
Foreign Bidders for
Coveted Honor.

line. Mass, where the nineteenth ma
tional open championship tournament will
begin on Tuesday. From the moment the
first pair, Nick Demane, OF this city, and
". c. Lagerblade, Of Youngstown. tee
UP at O'Clock, the crack Of the hard hit
drive and the ring of the iron will play
q continuous tune for four days. and
maybe longer The uncertainty lies in the
possibility of a tie. for 1t is matter OF
record that on no fewer than FIVE occa-
sions open champions have gained their
titles only after play-off.
With so many famed golfers entered 1t
becomes apparent at a glance that this
years open is certain to overshadow any
of its predecessors. To begin with, Harry
Nardon and Edward Ray. two Of Great
Britain's best. are here TO win If they
can. For several weeks they have been
touring the country in exhibition matches,
getting accustomed to American condi-
tions and incidentally trying TO forget
the heat. which works a handicap on for
eigners. especially those who regard the
wearing of coat as wellnigh indispen-
sable.
This tournament. with its elimination
test extending over the first two days,
presents greater difficulties and uncer-
tainties than any Of the previous affairs
,held under the auspices Of the United
States Golf Association. Medal play IS
trying enough at best. as 1t may only
take a single bad hole to spoil a golfers
chances. no matter how brilliant he may
be. This year, in addition to having to
endure the possibility of having his hopes
ruined at any stage Of the championship
proper, the golfer must also worry over
the possibility Of not even qualifying.
Ray recently said that he dreaded the
qualification more than anything else
This makes the first time in the his
tory or American golf that it has been
found necessary to devote more than two
days TO the open championship. The size
of the entry, containing as it does 166
names, makes It out Of the question TO
get the field round twice day; conse-
quently it becomes necessary TO adopt
the method at present in use abroad.
That requires half the field to start on
the first day and the remainder on the
second, conditions providing that the
thirty-two with the lowest scores for
thirty-six holes each day, or sixty-four
in all. will then be eligible to compete in
the championship proper at seventy-two
holes.
Most prominent Of the starters on
Tuesday will be Vardon, who is scheduled |
10 tee up in company with Fred Mcleod |
Of Columbia at 9:25 o'clock. This pair |
will be certain to carry a gallery. as Nc
Leod is also an exceptional golfer. It
was at Myopia in 1908 that the Wasp"
as he has been called, won the title after
q play off with VIII Smith.
Alec Ross, another former champion, |
will have as partner Robert c. Watson, |
president OF the United States Golf As
sociation. They are down TO get away
at 1915. Another mixed pair also on
Tuesday will consist Of James r. Thorn !
son, the Pennsylvania champion, and W.
c. Fownes. jr., who won the amateur
title at Brookline in 1910.
On Wednesday morning the most prom |
inent Of the early birds will be Tom An |
derson. jr., Of Oakmont. and Jerome D. !
Travers, Of Upper Montclair. four times |
winner OF the amateur crown. They will |
drive off at $3.50, while at $3.50 John j.
McDermott, the Atlantic City homebred |
who has won the national open cham |
pionship for the last two years, will start |
with II. II. Wilder, one Of the best Of the !
Massachusetts, amateurs.
Ray and Jack Hobens, of Englewood, !
get away at 9:45. and little later VIII |
Smith. who won the open as far back as |
1899, will try again. having the Western |
amateur, Charles W. Evans, jr., as his |
partner.
Just who will prove the most formidable |
stumbling block in the way Of Vardon |
and Ray only time can tell, but II is GER
tain that such stars as McDermott Alec |
Smith. Tom Mcnamara, Mcleod, NJ. j. |
Brady, Gil Nichols, Ross and George !
Sargent will be the men upon whom |
American hopes will be centred. McDer- |
mott, in his usual confident way has al |
ready voiced the opinion that Ray and |
Vardon would be taken care of at Brook |
line. and II is no secret that the visiting |
Britons entertain wholesome respect for |
the game Of the 1rish-American.
Alec Smith. the rapid fire performer, |
who showed the way TO a fine field in |
the metropolitan open at Salisbury, is at |
the top Of his game again, and must be |
reckoned with, as well as Mcnamara. !
Then there is Alec Campbell, the Brook |
line pro" 1t is an old saying that a |
professional never wins the title over his |
home links, but the "nipper" is a wizard /
at Brookline and perfectly at home on I
the keen putting surfaces which are GER
tain 10 battle good many OF the visitors. |
The amateur phase of an open tourna-
ment never looked so promising as this |
one. Among the twenty-three entrants |
are several Of the country's foremost /
players Travers unless he should go off |
his game, may find Brookline TO his liking. !
Evans has returned many low scores |
there. and so has Fred Herreshoff. who |
won the medal in the qualifying round |
when the amateur championship was de- |
cided at Brookline in 1910. On that occa-
sion he made the thirty-six-hole test in |
l52-good enough for even Vardon.
Then there is Francis Ouimet. the Mas
sachusetts champion. regarded by good /
Judges as one OF the most likely success
------ - 49, c,orvv ,ouy u,Orv hv TraUarq