Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-09-28

lialNllsNi - l'i 'lIF IlNN lllll' III '''' no
tory Of golf in this country an open
tom lament is being played at the Merton
Cric',e, 'lub without amateur markers for
the professionals Some time back in the
hazy days some one conceived the idea that
professionals were not to be trusted, SO
ever since when there has been an open
championship amateurs have been sent out
to see that the scores We're promptly kept.
II may be that some one felt that if the
pros were not watched they might run away
with the green's or hunkers or sell the links
to some unsuspeCting stranger.
The professionals have felt this keenly.
They are Il nice lot Of fellows, and it has
been hard on them 10 feel that the men
who run golf associations would not trust
them to keep their own scores. But the
day when the pros were treated as crimi
mails and potential cheaters seems to be
past.
Howard Perrin. president Of the United
States Golf Association and vice president
Of the Golf Association Of Philadelphia, is
! responsible for the new order Of things.
lie told Robert W. Lesley, the president OF
the local association. that the old system
was wrong and that it was not fair to the
! professionals TO have a iailer sent around
| with them to see that they committed no
! golf larceny. And the matter came up be-
| fore the executive committee and it
| promptly abolished the plan Of having an
amateur marker for every pair Of pros.
And needless to say, the scheme is work
| ing out very well, There is no reason TO
believe that "A professional or an amateur
will cheat. There are two games in which
| the idea of cheating is abhorreut one Of
| them is cards and the other golf no golfer
vino values his Self-resptCt Will cheat AT
! golf and the fellow who will. will cheat
! lust as much IL he is watched as he will If
I he is not. And we are coming around to
| a new order Of things and placing the pro-
| fesslonal where he belongs and treating him
| like a man and not criminal.
| Jack McDermOtt Watches Play
Just four years ago Jack McDermott
! then the open champion of this country, set
| a new record for the east course at Merton
| with a 73. lie had just returned from
| Great Britain. where he had made an un-
successful effort to win the open CHAMPION
! ship, and he had hardly got his land legs
/ back when he entered the tournament. Yet
| he made his first round in 20, and here is
| his old card:
out 3 6 ; : $50
I'm ..4 3.4 4 4--34-73
His four rounds for total Of 305 were
| 73 IS. 20 and 20. and he won the cham
| pionship by a wide margin. Yesterday
/ Fred Mcleod. who the open title so
many years ago that most Of us have for
! gotten about II, equaleu MCDeIlnOtt HS-
| ures.
| Yesterday McDermott walked around the
course watching the playing of the pros.
| lie has just recently left the state Insane
! Hospital at NoTristown, where he has been
| for the last two years. His mental break
| down came greatly as surprise to his
! friends and was the result chiefly of a
/ speech Mac made at Shawnee when he won
, the open tournament there from Ray and
/ Nardon, andv which was well meant and
. made in a jocuar mood, but which in a
I garbled fashion soon was published. This
and the further fact that his entry for the
/ open championship at Brookine in 1913
was for a time refused made him very
moody and melancholy, and later he broke
! down mentally
He looks older than when | saw him three
| or four years ago. but he readily recognized
his old friends among the professionals and
| called them by name. He chatted a while
/ with them, but after all he never had much
to say I'm the old days when he was easily
at the top Of the professional ranks in this
country. He watched the play with the
greatest OF Interest and even swung club
or two Word that he was on the course
soon passed around, and his friends, pro,
fessional and amateur, gave him a hearty
welcome. He will not be able to play fol
some time
Nipper Campbell Praises Merton
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