New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-05-12
Expresses Conviction That
American Players Have
Royal Chance.
BRINGS OUT CLEARLY
A POINT OF MORALE
Calls Travers, Ouimet and Evans
the Flower of Golf on This
Side the Atlantic.

Harold II. Hilton. the amateur golf
champion of Great Britain, who will re-
port the 1914 meeting at Sandwich next
week exclusively for The Tribune, dis
cusses America and the Championship
in the current issue Of the English maya
zine of which he is editor. going into 1t
deeply from not only a golf but psy-
Geological point of view as well.
II Is n remarkable consideration OF the
salient features OF the championship
from the pen OF a man who not only
holds the title, but has held it on several
occasions in the past, along with the
American honor in 1911. He declares that
never In the history of amateur golf IN
England has the prospect been more in
teresting. and states further that I'M
doubtedly the presence Of the large num-
Der Of American players contributes
mostly to this exceptional interest.
He calls attention TO the fact that last
year only one or two notable amateurs
from America took part, including +.
Heinrich Schmidt, who proved a suf-
ficiently dour opponent TO cause more
than an average degree of anxiety in the
in part, as follows:
in truth. il would not be wide Of the
mark TO say that many heaved a sigh of
relief when the plucky little Massachu-
sets golfer Schmidt succumbed on the
nineteenth green in the sixth round, as
his triumphal march through the ranks
OF our home-bred players had caused
.l-f q
the more acute on account of the fact that
he had come TO these shores almost I'M
heralded and with his praises unsung.
And in view Of the fact that Mr. Schmidt
was not looked upon in his own country
a. one of the elite Of amateur golf It was
naturally considered that our national
golfng reputation was at stake, much as
it was in the year of 1904
AT the beginning Of the 1904 champion
ship the chances OF Mr.. Travis were not
seriously considered by the critics. but
since that memorable occasion We have
learned TO respect the pretensions Of
American amateur golf.
an the coming championship there viii
be in the field the very flower Of amateur
talent from across the water as there
can be little doubt that Messrs. Jerome
Travers, Francis Ouimet, and Charles
Evans, jr.. stand out lust a little from
their fellow-countrymen. And 10 our
way of thinking they represent trio
who. day in and day out. are quite the
equal of the very finest amateur ex-
ponents of the game on this side.
That each of these young players has
a very bright chance Of taking the trophy
back with hin is our honest conviction.
as, although we are not going 20 say they
are finer opponents of the game than
several of our own players, we can
not but think that In point Of morale
our visitors hold the advantage, in that
they are playing in a strange country
with a strange climate and environment
10 contend with, and they have every
excuse if they fail.
ION the other hand. the reputation OF
British golf is very much at stake, and
it may be that the British amateurs who
are called upon TO meet the Americans
will be very much aware Of this fact
This feeling was certainly most plainly
in evidence in the year OF 1904, when
.
one Of the opponents Mr.. Travis met
could be said to have approached his
true form. They all seemed to be weighed
down by the responsibilities Of the oc-
casiOn.
AT Sandwich our safety lies In our
numbers. We have many players who
are but little behind the very best In the
land, and the man who gets through
will have much harder row 10 hoe
than falls to his lot in the American
amateur event. The very best Of the
American players may be quite the equal
Of the best in this land. but there are not
nearly so many really good players TO
contend against over there as are to be
found in Great Britain. And in conse-
ouence their crack amateurs have sim
pier task in the big events than Is placed
before the leaders in this country and II
any of the American invaders comes
through successfully on Friday May 2
next, he may rest assured that he mas
accomplished a greater feat than he has
ever accomplished In connection WIN
amateur golf in his own country