New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-05-17
Should at Least Reach the
Semi-Final in British
Golf Tourney.
PRESENT CHAMPION
ANALYZES OUTLOOK
disappointed in Form Shown by
Ouimet and Thinks Evans
Lacks Practice.
BY HAROLD n. HILTON.
Amateur golf champion Of Great
Britain.)
BY cable 10 The Tribune J

,ondon. May 16.-There is an enor-
.ou. amount Of interest in the amateur
,,r championship tournament which
,.gins tomorrow at Sandwich. and the
n,srest is almost entirely due to the
..usence Of so many American golfers
4, the competition. Every British
,o,ser IS alive TO the fact that TINS
soar there is a big possibility OF one
j, vour rlayers emulating the perform
arc. Of Walter j. Travis on the same
nurse in 1904.
The public on this side Of the water
: NOT inclined 10 underestimate the
Drobahility Of an American victory ana
me play Of Jerry Travers, Ouimet
and Chick" Evans is being followed
Nth almost feverish interest.
Travers has been accomplishing such
srs work over our links that at the
ron,ent he is almost the favorite for
s-s, horors. The odds are now as low
,s6to I. which, when il is considered
hat 232 players will compete. ana
hat in this number are TO be found
| ,.arly all the finest amateurs Of the
NJ world. may be said to supply great
,.s,,rnonv 10 the esteem in which his
zane is held by the critics on this
SIDE
From the moment Travers arrived he
las been practising with his wooden
q hubs. and his perseverance has been
attended with more than the average
degree of success, as he is getting the
hall well away from the tee with
short. straight faced brassie and is
very seldom guilty Of bad error with
his club.
II he maintains his present form IT
1 viii not be wooden club play that will
4 eause any possible failure His putting
has very much impressed everybody
IN this side. and. the critics are en-
nusiastic about the clean and accurate
manner with which he hits the ball
on the green AS one admiring spec
I iator remarked: He stands up TO the
tall as il he expected to hole all his
4 puts. and when he strikes the ball
one feels that nothing but i'll luck can
keep ii out of the hole
In the St. Georges Vase contest he
commenced by holing his third shot
4 from the edge Of the green, and when
again he had only one putt on the
4 second green a spectator ruefully re-
marked: why, this fellow is a bigger
fend than even Travis on the green.
Does he always do that?"
Fortunately for the other competitors
he finally proved but human after all,
ana no doubt many British sympathiz-
l ers felt relief when they saw the ball
4 siding past the hole instead of drop
! ping in, as none Of our men could pos
s!by stand up against the work Re ac-
! complshed on the first two greens.
0ulmet has been little disappointing
since he has been over here. No doubt
We expected a little too much Of this
Youthful prodigy Of yours. as many
anticipated reproduction of the form
that enabled him TO defeat Ray and
yardon. and in consequence his poor
showing I'm the Golf Illustrated" COM
petition at Sunningdale came some
what in the nature Of a shock to those
who iouneyed out especially TO see
| him play
He played many brilliant shots dur
ing the days play which served to give
one an idea of the class of game
De must have been putting up against
the two British professionals, but on
The other hand he played many loose
shots. and loose shots invariably find
trouble in the heather at Sunningdale.
To add to Oulmet's discontinue. his
puts at distances from four feet to
ihree yards stubbornly refused TO go
nto the hole. Naturally many wondered
bow he ever managed TO defeat Ray
and Vardon in the famous play-off at
Brookline. but ohservant critics who
have knowledge Of the game did not
ldil 10 realize that he is a fine natural
softer and has big game in him. But
! certainly he has not found it in this
country yet
Chick Evans arrived only last
week ana has hardly had time to get
INTO his true form. but Notwithstanding
his lack Of practice he has been playing
Some very fine golf.
The opinion over here is that if the
trophy is TO cross the Atlantic again it
Will be through the prowess of Travers.
as he is Playing more consistent golf
Than any of your amateurs. and we all
Respect his wonderful match playing
abilities and know full well that he is
sure TO do justice 10 the game in him.
lie will not fail through any lack OF
nerve, but the task i'm the champion
snip on this side is more trying than
your players have to go through in
your amateur battle as there are so
many players in the British Isles who
play the game very little inferior TO the
0est In the land.
There is always the risk of one of
mo cracks being snuffed out early in
me contest. as the rounds are at only
s'shteen holes. not thirty-siX, as with