The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-10-19
Billiards TO in Week
ANA 7EUR- PROFESSIONAL
GOLF IS NOT FEASIBLE
Time Is Ripe, However, for Such Matches to Be Played
Day Before Open Tourney, Says
John G.. Anderson.
BY JOHN G.. ANDERSON.


The golf season of 1919 has had many
incidents worth a passing paragraph.
but one question which we were asked
the past week on which to comment
seems deserving of a bit OF space. The
writer was asked whether this year
saw any leyelling in playing power
between the amateurs and the profess
SIGNALS, despite the fact that only one
| amateur finished in the first ten of the
open championship held at Brae Burn,
and furthermore If a club should stage
a match play tourney for professionals
and amateurs every year whether there
would be entries from the pros"
The queries open up new line Of
| thought. To- hold match play events
| wherein amateurs and pros would de-
| eide their respective capabilities in eigh-
| teen and thirty-six hole contests might
| draw galleries of grand proportions, but
we doubt the wisdom of any such course
and believe that II tried they would be
dismal failure. We hardly believe
that the U. S. G. A. would care to
sanction any such event, breaking away
from a system hundreds OF years old.
However, the time may be ripe for
| a regular series Of neutrality-suspicious.
matches the day before the open cham
pionship, corresponding to the amateur
| professional event which was held in
| 1911 in Great Britain, where foursomes
| and singles were played much after the
manner of the Lesley cup contests; In
| fact Just as they were played in the
so-called "Internationar' matches played
| three years ago over a chain OF metro
politan links for the benefit Of the Red
| Cross.
/ To-, No. v,,tv "A
| tournament, for there never would be
thoroughly representative fields, and we
would advise the chap who thought UP
this scheme to hold 1t in check. But we
| have not the shadow of a doubt that
there would be tremendous interest in a
yearly match play with four ball, or
foursome method. in the morning round
with ten or fifteen amateurs playing
| against the same number of profess
sionals Those who were in the huge
galleries which attended the brilliant
exhibitions put up by Mr.. Travers
against Jock Hutchinson, Gilbert Nichols
and Walter Hagen, wherein Travers was
the victor in two of the three, losing
| only to a phenomenal shot by Hutchi-
son at the last hole at Siwanoy (Hutchi-
| son reached the $50 yard hole, slightly
uphill. in two shots), will never forget
, the keenness of the players, the en-
thusiasm of the gallery and the brill
lance Of the play.
How They Did 1t Abroad.
The chief interest in golf across tho
water was equally divided in the play
of the international team contests,
which meant ten man team from Eng
land and Scotland playing at foursomes
and singles, and 10 the professional in
| ternational matches played in the same
fashion, and the regular amateur and
| open contests. The selection of the
players put a premium upon their golf
ing at all seasons of the year and in
a measure kept them keyed up to the
responsibility OF having to play good
| golf on all occasions when a record
of their play would be made public.
We have no small stretch of territory
with different countries such as is true
with England, Ireland, Scotland and
| Wales. We do have the Tristate Lesley
| cup matches, and none can compare
with the pleasure excited by that series,
but these examples are just what are
needed to prove the case that single
contest held at the time of the open
championship would meet with the pub
lie approval of all golfers.
At the time of the coronation OF King
| George a similar event was held at
| Sandwich between the British amateurs
and the professionals, and it was neces-
sary to run seven special trains from
London to take care of the great num-
Der OF persons who were willing to
travel two hours to be present at such
a match. Primarily 1t is a case for
the club which is holding the cham
pionship to stage, getting permission II
necessary, but we feel that 1t would
benefit the game and the interest II
such were held.
Which brings US to the first part OF
the query. whether or not the amateurs