Evening star., 1915-08-01

bens have played in the greatest num-
Der of championships, neither one hav-
ing missed year except at Midlothian
in 1914. Campbell has never scored be-
low 900, but he has one 302 to his
credit. which is just thirty eight
strokes better than his worst effort at
Myopfa, where a $40 fell to his lot.
But If he has any thoughts of what he
did that day they must be slight in
comparison with those which Hobens
may enjoy. Away back in 1901, again
at Myopia, the very name of which
seemed to cast spell of hole blind
ness, aided by the skin green's, which
In those days frightened everybody, the
Englewood PROFESSIONAL handed in a
card which totaled 36s, an average of
92 per round. In later years he has
been in one championship 50 strokes
better, just about a good afternoons
score for him on his home course
In all the open championships since
the rubber cored ball came into use
there have been twenty-four scores I'M
der 800 for the seventy-two holes The
first to break the seemingly mystic
triple century was Alex Smith, who, in
1906, at Onwentsia, did 295. Three
years later the play was at Englewood,
the ground was hard and six golfers
came home in record fgures-George
ions under the 300 mark Tom McNa-
mara. Alex Smith, Isaac Mackie. Jack
Hobens and Willie Anderson. The next
year there were four more, none in
1911. three at Buffalo in 1912, none at
Brookline and six at Midlothian, with
two this year at Baltusrol
Freddy Mcleod, George Sargent and
j. j. McDermott have been under 800
twice. Tom Mcnamara thrice and Alex
Smith tops them all with scores which
nm o0in
1906-1912 were less than an average of
Is per round. Gilbert Nichols has one
800 made in 1910, which is forty-nine
strokes better than his first effort at
Myopia. Among the amateurs Walter
]. Travis has scored 800, but this is out
shone by the 2s1 by Chick Evans and
the 29S of Francis Ouimet. both scores
made last year at Chicago. 1t also is
worthy of note that George Sargent of
Chevy Chase has made the lowest top
score" of all those who have played in
twenty rounds or more of national open
championship golf. He has a 319 made
at Brookline; next to him comes J. J.
McDermott, who in his first attempt
scored 322. this at Englewood the
year when six scores were under 800.
careful survey of the figures would
seem to indicate several facts at which
hitherto we have only guessed The
gradual Improvement of scores by the
same professional-Willie Anderson's
331, which won at Myopia in 1901, and
his 299 in 1909, which only brought him
tie for fourth, as an example-show-
ing not only the great Improvement in
the rubber core golf ball itself but also
in the ability of the players to circum-
vent trouble in more clever fashion.
Golf courses today are strokes harder
than they were ten years ago, and yet
the average of scores of the leaders,
the first ten In the mast jS
three strokes better. One reason is
the keen competition, far beyond that
OF a decade ago, and the decision ar
rived at by many of our top notch pro-
fessional golfers to play thinking
golf.
Professionals are as human as the
rest of us, but in years past they have
been less like machines, and the value
of single stroke has never appealed
to them as it does nowadays. Five or
ten years ago the public was as much
interested in the brilliant shots as in
the total score, but now golfers speak
of the bad shots which have helped
lose a championship; as result the
liant often and plan to play it safe
all along the line, trusting to steady
work on the putting greens to pull
them through.
comfort to those who have been fearful
of the decline of the golfing excellence
of the foreign-bor golfers to know
that If we take the list of those who
have played twenty or more rounds in
the United States open championships
there are eighteen foreign-born out of
twenty-five who have finished in the
money on various occasions and have
the best averages. while in the number
of those who have played in three or
four national "opens" eight out of
the first ten are either Scotch, French
or English. Still, on the other hand. 1t
will be seen that McDermott leads the
one and Hagen the other division, each
having met over a period of years most
of the men whose names have been
mentioned But if we take the
Shawnee tournament and the national
and the metropolitan we and that there
is many a fight left in the "old guard
and that IL really Is the case now
where the home ebreds- are on the de-
fensive.