Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-08-14

On the 18th green, felt safe vvos rov,
".ye srokes ahead and I won bv four
80. Vnat championships became cam,
putaV!te ely easy. I had one year of nor
luiua'Ion IN striving to uphold a new no
slton, and in 1897 finished six strokes
penlna the victor H. H. Hilton hut
ielt that | could win again. and once
this confidence was completely ostab-
"Sleu an the difficulties disappeared
so lar rs concerns the playirp orf NJ
lles' nave memories OF greater excite
ment In connection with that MEETING at
hrcokline, Mass, In 1918, than in the case
a. tne s.ruuBle with Taylor for recopni-
tion In the golhng world
] was intensely keen on vvinrir, t,.
american championships two years AGO.
because Ray and I had been sent out nv
an enthusiastic supporter of the game
with particular iniunctions to canture tho
ute; there was to be no excuse for de-
Feat. Well there was no excuse. we
were beaten by a man who during that
week played the best golf and played 1t
with just that regard which | have al
ready recommended for not losing ones
nead IN an effort to accomplish prodr-
ious things. Francis Ouimet hit his shots
as though he had been engaged I'm one Of
his innumcrable private rounds on his
mother course; he knew just how to win.
1 have always felt that the turning
green Ouimet, Ray and | were level at
the turn. The 10th, short hole, de-
manded a mashie shot to n green that
was soaked as n consequence of the heavy
rains Of the previous days 4 rule had
been made that In the event of a ball
nelng imbedded in the mud of a green 1t
should be lifted and placed beside the
spot where II had stuck. Both Ray and /
pitched short of the hole and the slope
or the green was such that In each case
the ball jumped back n few inches leav-
ing in front of II a mark in the ground
at the place where It had pitched
Ouimet sent his ball about eight yards
past the hole, and as It stuck, he was
entitled to lift 1t. Thus he had q clear
putt. while Ray and l had to take mid
irons in order to chip over the dent in
the turf Just In front of us. We dropped
a stroke each II was one of those
little incidents that occur from time to
time, helping one here and going against
one there; | refer to II because / know
that It settled Just about the most
thrilling open championship of the
United States that has ever been held
Ouimet gave us no chance of drawing
level with him. / made up my mind to
do 1t at the 1ith. where I was still only
a stroke behind, Ray was now out of
the hunt, but in some strange manner
n drive which l thought / had struck
perfectly finished in a bunker. People
VINO saw the shot told me afterward
that it caromed off something and broke
fully eight yards into the hazard
have been asked fairly often what
regard as my best golf in champion
ships I have no hesitation in selecting
the Sandwich meeting of 1899 as the Joy
week of my life. l could hit a ball then:
the recollection of II is sweet in contrast
TO the bitter struggle which it has been
In recent times to keep in the fore
ground. When the game has been easy
to you and YOU have never thought of
the bare possibility of falling to put a
ball near to the hole with any kind OF
iron club, it is no small chagrin to find
the whole thing going against you; to
realize that the winning of champion
ships has become hard work | had
secured my second lt Prestwick in 1898,
and the third at Sandwich in the fol-
lowing season was Just the pleasantest
task that ever presented itself to me.
l enjoyed the unmatchable dispensation
of believing that could do anything with
club and a ball. People have declined
to accept by own estimate that, dur 1
ing recent years, my golf has been four
strokes a round worse than it used to
be; If they knew the difference in my
feelings when playing they might be
tempted to agree with me. / realize full
well now that golf is not easy, even
though one may win at II.
1t was shortly after this third success
in the British open championship that l
started for my maiden visit to America
Perhaps l left some of my best form in
the States II have never played quite so
we'll since, except perhaps, for a few
months in The spring of last year., but
l enjoyed every minute of the golf and
the life, even to the travelling, which was
more or less continuous, Naturally, there
was relief occasionally from serious COM
petition, / relished nothing more than
the boiling indignation of two caddies
who offered to teach Willie Smith and
me how to play golf on the Van Cort-
landt course in New York.
Copyright, 1915, by the Wheeler syndi- |
cate, lnc)
This is the tenth Of a series of articles on |
golf that MIR. NRTdOn, the British champion, !
Is writing specially for the Evening Ledger. |
The eleventh article will appear next satur- |
day.