The sun., 1916-08-27
WALTER HAGEN
FINDS MASTER
IN jim BARNES
Golf Records for Season
Show Englishman Has
Lower Average.
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''who Ia the best professional golfer Of
the year, 10 q question that seems easy
tn answer when one recalls the victories
OF Walter Hagen in the Metropolitan and
Western open championships and In the
recent tourney at Shawnee. A golfer
with two big titles in a year when the
national crown went to an amateur
seems deserving OF being ranked as the
leading professional OF the 1916 season.
for at first glance no rival threatens his
supremacy. walter Hagen Is almost
sure to be the answer made by the rank
and nle Of golfers to the question with
which this paragraph begins.
On the score OF notable victories. per-
haps Hagen Is the leader this year.. but
when his performances are measured.
stroke for STROKE. with those Of James
N. Barnes OF Whitemarsh Valley. the tall
Eng1ishmzn looms up as the better golfer
Of the two. Hagen n Barnes have
competed against each other In eight open
Journeys this season: they have each
played twenty-nine eighteen hole medal
rounds under exactly the same conditions
In those eight Journeys. and the records
shov that Hagen has made 2.164 strokes
20 2.139 for Barnes. an advantage OF
twenty Ave strokes on the side of the
<nIlAoelpnla PROFESSIONAL.
Barnes 25 Strokes Ahead.
The difference OF twenty-five strokes
Seems pretty big at FIRST. but II must not
be forgotten that there were twenty-nine
rounds In the totals Just given. and
twenty-five strokes In twenty-nine rounds
II not as great an advantage as It APP
pears to be. Hagen's average score per
u 10 7I.62. and Barnes is credited
with 1915, 70 they are Just about a
stroke apart per round.
Barnes n Hagen first encountered
each other this year In the annual United
North and South open championship At
Pinehurst. 1t was only n thirty six hole
test. played on April 1. and was won by
Barnes with a total of 14i. Hagen man.
aged to get no better than eighth place
with his score OF 1+9. so Barnes gained
a title and an advantage OF five strokes
over the golfer who was destined to be
his chief rival throughout the season.
After a lapse OF more than two months
they both entered the Massachusetts, open
championship. a full seventy-two hole
medal play test at Brae Burn on June Is
and 10. This time neither Of them won.
Brae Burn In a long and hard ours and
the result of the tourney would indicate
that familiarity with the n counted for
= good deal. for a Massachusetts profess
sional. Mike Brady. and one III a
been stationed at q Massachusetts course
for several years. Pat Doyle. tied for the
title. Brady later winning the playoft.
A far as the duel between Hagen and
Barnes was concerned. Barnes made an
other gain. for his total OF 31s ave him
third place. and Hagen. although he won
NTH money. was eight strokes further
behind with a total for the four rounds
nj non Thai NIT tIirsoap ~ rAlrac
ahead In two Journeys consisting OF six
eighteen hole rounds.
Hagen's FSrst victory.
Then came the national open cham
rionship at Minikahda on une 20 and
80 when Chick Evans led the field with
his wonderful score OF 2S6. and Jock
Hutchinson. the brilliant but erratic
Allegheny professional. slipped into Sec
ond place only two strokes back OF the
great amateur. Barnes again increased
his advantage over Hagen at Minikahda,
for the tab Cornishman finished third on
the list with go. and Hagen was seventh
with 295. 1t was another five stroke gain
for Barnes. and with three Journeys and
ten rounds behind them he was eighteen
strokes ahead OF Hagen.
Then came the turning OF the tide. for
In the metropolitan open championship
at Garden City on July IL and II, fol-
lowed by the playoff on July Is. Hagen
won the title and gained all OF one stroke
on Barnes. II wasn't much OF a gain,
but II gave Hagen one OF the most i'm
portaEt open crowns In the country, and
so was o greater victory than the narrow
margin BY which 1t was won makes It
seem.
At the end OF the four rounds which
constituted the championship test at
Garden City, Hagen. Barnes and Charles
Homer were tied for first place at 307,
and on the following day Hagen won the
playof. with "a to 70 for Barnes. That
made Barnes seventeen strokes ahead Of
Hagen after fifteen rounds OF medal
play under exactly the same conditions.
Played In Local Tourney.
A few days later. on July Is and 10,
they both played in the professional
tourney at Van Cortlandt Park held
by the New York Newspaper Golf Club.
This time Barnes led once more, win
ming the tournament with a score OF
27S. the remarkably low score being
u chiehy TO the easy course over
which the tourney was PLAYED, Hagen,
fresh from his victory at Garden City,
was able to do no better than ?si. and
tied for fifth place, 1t was another gain
:" HNc stTok's ror barnes, ana with
nineteen rounds In black and white on
the record books he was twenty-five
strokes ahead OF Hagen.
The Shawnee open tournament on
August s and 8 found both Hagen and
Barnes on hand ready to renew their
duel as well Ms In attempt to outplay
all OF the other pros In the field. 1t
was Hagen who succeeded In carrying
on the honors with a score OF o9S, max
ing a IS In every round but the last, In
which he cut two strokes of his previous
scores and turned in "A 70. It proved To-
he OILY "A fair tourney for barnes, and
his score for the two days OF play was
800. which. however. was good enough
for third place. Hagen therefore picked
III six strokes OF Barnes and was only
sixteen behind for the season. twenty
three rounds having been played.
The Englishn,Rn' ms biggest Gain.
After playing at Shawnee both Hagen
and Barnes made the long pilgrimage to
Milwaukee. where they played In tbs
Western open championship on the
course OF the Blue Mound Country Club
Hagen won the title safely enough with
a score OF ESQ, which equallcd the total
with which Chick Evans won the ma,
tional open championship at M~inIkahda
but the hospitable Westerners provided
a special thirty-six hole tourney at Blue
Mound the day before the championship
hogan, and II was then and there that
Barnes made a killing lie won tn,
competition with n score Of 1877 and
Hagen was lucky to squeeze into nintf
N1nAn al AZ l-