The Detroit times., 1915-12-15
mink Ford Meant Them and Get Busy Real Peace Pact
Jerry Travers Champion at Both Styles of Coli, Makes
Plea for Medal Play Throughout National Amate,
Cites Detroit Tourney
In Criticism of
Match Game

Which Is the fairer championship
test at golf-match play or medai
play? IL there is one golfer In this
unprepared commonwealth OF ours
who should know, II Is Jerome Dun
stan Travers. Travers has won the
amateur championship at match play
on four occasions. He has won the
open championship at medal play
once. He has heen over both routes.
He knows the comparative value OF
each.
There is no argument here at
all" said Jerry. The fairer, surer
test is over the medal play route.
That Is why ! believe our amateur
championship should be settled by
- holes Of medal play, rather than
b. the match play system, which is
eltirely too complicated, which takes
entirely too long and which isn't
nearly as fair 4 test.
The golfer who finished first In
72-hole test would DE playing better
golf than any one else. He could
get there in no other way. But In
our present sys: EN- of match play II
is easily possible for MAN TO win
ihe championship and play only one
Ut two rounds OF high grade golf. II
is as much a matter OF luck as II Is
a matter OF golfing skill.
Entirely too much deperds upon
the draw. One man may have an
easy road ahead and the other have
star 10 beas every day. Out at
Detroit this fall Chick Evans shot a
rs his first round. and WAS still. beaten
the irst day. On tho second ! had
Is and Was dropped out. Yet Sher-
rill Sherman went TO the scmi.fnals
without playing a round under so.
"I have talked TO leading golfers
from the east, the west and the
SOUTH" continued Travers. -and with
hardly an exception they all favor
having the amateur title decided
over the medal round route There
are two reasons for this-one. that
medal play is the better test. The
other IL that the tournament viii
then last only four days instead OF a
week.
"why ia a medal round the fairer
display! Because practically all luck
has been eliminated, and each mans
ranking depends upon his ability to
score, stroke by stroke. This has
been proved well enough In England.
THE world's three greatest golf
ers are vardon, Braid and Taylor
No one disputes this statement. And
among them by the medal play sys-
tenn they have won something like
l6 OF the last 20 championships OF
Great britain.
do YOU know how many amateur
champions America has had in 20
years. Exactly 13. Not because
we have so many fine players. but
because by match play the element
OF luck plays too big a part"
Travers takes his stand for medal
play in spite Of the fact that he is
considered better and has always
done better under match play condi-
tions. His victory In the open tour
nament at Baltusrol last summer
was about his only medal play
achievement. whereas he has won
four amateur titles where match
plav was the test.
who would be more likely 70 win
consistently AZ medal play? Trav-
ers. Ouimet, Gardner. Evans. Mars
ston-or who7 Trayers and Ouimet
have each won one open champion
ship at medal play. Evans has nm
ished second I'm another. There was
A time when Evans was ranked as
the best medal play amateur In the
land. But this yeaI he fell away
badly, although Ouimet's drop was
even greater.