Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-13


playing too good" golf? asks John G.
Anderson in. the New York Sun.
suppose a number of readers may be
mystified at this rather strange query.
which assuredly must be preceded by
is to be given. 1t is easy to find
meant.
Perhaps the best explanation Of the
past year is furnished by Gilbert Mich
oils. In the Shawnee open tournament,
which came a little while before the
national open championship, the brill
liant EnglIshman literally smothered
the course with accuracy and eXtraor-
binary scoring ability. In the prac-
tice rounds previous to the open Mich
oils kept up his speed. In the pre-
liminary rounds of the national he led
the field with 147. His last two rounds
in the championship proper showed
also the same figure, 147: a combina-
ton of the two would have given him
the title by three strokes. But in the
preliminary round Nichols was play
ing too good" golf; he was getting
system. and when the searching test
came he was just enough stale to make
good scoring n matter of sincere effort.
The eXtn effort required which was
not necessary at Shawnee or in his
preliminary rounds at Baltusrol was
what made his score mount. There
were hundreds of IT told you sos
when Nichols handed in card for the
first thirty-six holes at Baltusrio1. which
left him well down the list and prac-
the championship. The professionals
agreed pretty much, IL not unanimous
ly. that he had played too good golf
beforehand. Could Nichols then have
so regulated his play. to some extent
at least. that he would not have had
such bad rounds when he did? It's
a bit OF question. but I think it can
be answered when we have taken other
examples of this too good" golf.
A rev years ago at Muirfeld I re-
member following Tom Bali for the fast
twelve holes in the qualifying play Of
the British open championship. He was
going great guns, playing champion
as the spectators said, and qualified
first because of this one brilliant round
of IS. 1t was a wicked day for golf
the wind coming in short, strong, f1tful
gusts; nothing was favorable for low
scoring: but Balls will and heart were
stronger and his play fiawless. Dun
cans score was a 73. and there were
not many scores under so.
Had Shot His Bolt.
One would naturally suppose that in a
case of this kind Ball would have been
made favorite for a low-score money
prize in the championship, especially as
he had played well in two previous
professional tournaments. The specta-
tors who had followed the round, a
goodly number, told over again every
shot, and spoke particularly of the
deadly precision in putting, which they
said would win the crown for him in
the coming days. But the canny old
professionals and several who were
making books on the affair, while say
ing little to discredit the play, marked
night from II to to IS to 1. They fig
ured that he had shot his bolt. had
played too excellent golf too soon. And
they were right. Ball did not figure
for prominent position at all.
John Graham. the illustrious amateur
who met death on the battlefield but a
few weeks ago, than whom there was
hardly a better beloved man or more
brilliant medal player in the history
of the game, usually turned in a Strik
ingly brilliant round in the practice
to the championship. He
won the medal-play trophy. held just
before the matches were started, on
more than one occa sion. but he gener-
ally failed to get through the semi-f1nal
1t may be that his too good"
golf came out of him too early in the
game.
1t may be, perhaps, that the play of
Harry Vardon and Edward Ray two
years ago suffered in this way. They
had been breaking records, playing day
after day. travelling much. and neither
golfer in his last round at Brookline
could do better than would be expected
Of a handicap three golfer at least one
in three times. Their good golf was
not in them. With them also much con-
scious effort had to be made on the
play-of, and failure came to them as it
does to almost every golfer in such a
plight.
In the same tournament / recall that
George o. Simpson. who had tied at
Chicago two years before for the title,
tice in 73. "a, II. In the championship
proper ! think he was 81 for the first
round. I remember the incident with
peculiar interest. for caddy whom l
had frequently met at Brae Burn had
asked me to get him a man with
chance to finish in the money, and
when I told him of what Simpson had
done in former years he gladly went
around, determined to give his very
best service. After his man had made
these fine scores in practice the caddy
went and bet all the money which he
counted upon making that week on the
chances of Simpson finishing among
the first ten: his face when l saw him
going to the home hole on that 80
round was a study for futurist artist.
Simpson had had his day too soon.
Happens Regularly.
1t is easily possible to multiply these
incidents by the thousands. They hap
pen every time a tournament is held;
they come to every golfer, be he a
..l bondicon man