The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-04-17
ny JOHN q.

time many stories Of the play Of John J
McDermott. twice open golf champion o.
the United States. The recent appeal fol
hck,. which comes from the former secre.
tary of the Philadelphia Golf Association
VIII not go unheeded. ! hope. and. in the
effort to aid McDermott, at present mr.
Inmate of a sanitarium near Philadel
phia. 7 wish to tell of a few incidents II
his career which. ] fancy. have never ye'
been given to the eolfng public.
II was in 1912. at Muirfeld. Edinburgh
that I first met Jack McDermott. I hat
heard much about him and had been ex.
tremely anxious to sec him do well in the
British opc championship. Tie came e
my room AT the hotel several times aud
spoke. with that earnestness aud supreme
confidence which were his. of the great
effort which he was planning to make In
order TO bring back to America the It'll,
of otrn champion of Great Britain and
at the same time. to prove to Rritishers
that the United States had "a golfer who
was ae great as their best.
In his practice ouruds at Muirfield he
played well down in the 1Us. In one foui
ball match, wherein he and l played
ttlllF iva .itNFN VIZ tllftN I y
aidy. McDermott went round In IL. holing
every putt. That was the day before
the qualifying round for the champion
ship. He was drawn to start at : 80 in the
morning. There were two trains. one at
4 80 and another at : 30. For a reason
which was not good enough for me. hut
yet which suited him. McDermott chose
III early train in order that he might
get a certain amount of practice before
the qualifying round.
Gle wac out on the links Mt : 80. THE
wine was blowing half "A gale and II was
cold. For three-qudrters of an hour Me
Dermott practised with all his clubs and
then, after beiic somewhat heated by
this exertion. he stood around in the cold
for fifteen minutes. waiting for his turn
TO start from the first tee. we other
American friends besides myself tried To
persuade him that he was running the
risk of going cold" but he spurned our
advice. | really think that his muscles
became stiffcn.d. and that his ~eXagger
ated pulling from The tee was simply the
result Of his early mornings practice,
A. is well known. he failed 20 qualify and
became. IN IA measure, the laushit. stock
of the tournament. for he had been too
boastful in the preliminary practice.
That night McDeimo,t came to my
room and FOR al least An hour struggled
to keel, back the tears. asked him
when he Was going home and he said
he Intended to show that Ne was game
10y sticking through the ?. holes and
by following round the championship
play and then leaving ON the next Satur-
day FOR America, where. lie said, he
would work to the best OF his ability
and come back neat year. ! persuaded
him to wait over the next week and
tax" III the French open championship
I shall never forget the gratitude and
the thanks which he gay" a week from
the following Saturday when he turned
~ a score of 241 for - holes IN the
French open championship at la Boulie.
defeating among others such great golf
ers as James Braid and J. n. Taylor.
That play in the French champion
snip. so he has told me many times
since. gave back TO him the confidence
which had been hie before the British
open championship and enabled him to
win IN" American championship at
Buffalo that same year.
That year 1t was my gooi fortune
TO return to America on a steamer with
"A golfer of no mean ieputc IN wa,
also the minister Of IA large church IN
Pennsylvania. We got talking on golf :
finally the conversation drift"l round TO
MrDcrmott. and | heard for the first
time several things which caused mo 10
reraNl MtD.rnott in Il brighter light
than ever before. II will do no harm
10 remark that Jack McDcrmott was
not a very well educated youth. He had
very little schooling n np~t Of tn" OPP
portunities which had presented them
selves when he was a young lad we're
not accepted. But. growing INTO young
manhood. McDermott felt his limita-
lions more than most of his friends, or
others who knew him but little, to this
day realize.
One day this minister went into Nc
permott's shop at Atlantic CITY and en-
gagged McDermott FOR a round in order
that he might take a lesson, In the
course of the round McDermott said TO
his companion: II nave never had
much education. ] should like very
much to take Il few lessons, both in Eng
! lish and in ~penmanship, and II
YOU will teach me | will be glad TO give
YOU golf lessons without charge His
companion Immediately said that no
would do all in his power to aid him in
this matter. though he would, of curse,
pay for the golf lessons which he took.
lie came around every morning at 1880
O'Clock and devoted an hour of his
time in helping the former ctddy VINO
was making fame as one OF the coming
great golfers OF America. All that sum
.ltT Nltl"I lIlpAA &C AhANAi''f w ~
ter himself, and succeeded The agrees
siyeness which he showed on the golf
links and in his everyday speech found
expression also in his determination 10
rise above his former environment. AT
Christmas time he did not forget his
bcnefartor, hut sent him a golf bag and
set Of the finest clubs,
Jack McIermott made many mis-
takes, it is true but I for one do not
think Of him as a young chap boastfully
proclaiming that he was the peer OF all
golfers in the world. but rather prefer 10
think If him as All ardent exponent of
American golf. having the fighting spirit
| which he displayed when gong coatless
In the rain at Brookline in 1913, and
trust that all golfers who have followed
his career with any degree of interest
viii not let the appeal to aid him pass
unheeded,
There seems to ne some sori OF u gam
bling germ which nuuifcsts itself ON the
first tee OF every golf links. sometimes II
prompts the golfer to say. "Ill play you
for "A bali a hole and sometimes II
pronpts some golfers to say. "Ill play
sou for s2j "A hole As "A rule the men
who make these wagers are quite able "a
pay them II they lose. and We have very
few instances of cases whore golfe-s have
been driven into debt which has become
burdensomc becaiIS" of their bad play
| over the course. Al the same time | can-
not but feel that with every bet which
Is recorded, especially that which Is Of
greater value than - hall - round on In"