The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-06-15

week through the resumption Of play for
COLTS highest honor. For q half mil
/ lion or so. however. q spell Of varying
proportions was cast as the news was
flashed over the wires from day to day
Of the fortunes or misfortunes attaching
| to the country's best golf players
Your ordinary golfer may not read the
rules carefully enough or follow them
Ireligiously. but he does read eagerly the
! news of golf. He may not take great
| interest In his own club or district cham
pionships, but he does devour every ac-
| count of the play for the title of golf
king, and he further asserts that he
| lapse Of three years the heightened
| interest showed plainly the power Of the
| smouldering desire.
The actual play Is not all a golfer
likes to read of the by products, SO to
| speak. and at Brae Burn this year there
| were many such. The course itself
measured up we'll for the true test of a
| champion. Distance and demands for a
great variety of strokes alike were
present while the weather conditions
fortunately favored no single pair.
It's wide Appeal.
One of the great attributes of the
game of golf is its appeal to both young
| and old. In the gallery the past week
! at Brao Burn / saw men whose ages
! must have been mounting toward the
! four score who trudged bravely on in
| the wake of scores of schoolboys, who
| rushed madly from school the moment
the chance presented itself. The play
ers too showed the versatility OF age.
Here was a youth of 80, Hoffner. not
4 univ lpadinp tha in vpf w hi
weather but tying the record Of the
| course with even fours for the Journey:
| here also was a former champion OF
other days and the Old World. Willie
| Park, courageous enough In heart TO
! try his fortunes against the cream Of
| this country's best.
1t will be recalled that Park was the
| open champion of Great Britain way
| back in 1887 and 1889 and that twelve
years after that date he was tied for
the honors. For the two years follow
ing the winning of the championship he
met all corners for large purses and
| never met defeat The noted Willie
Fernie and J. II. Taylor fell before his
skill In vain did he challenge Harry
| Vsrdon to home and home match, for
the latter's friends advised Vardon not
| to play over the Musselburgh course
where Park knew every twist and turn.
Park finally met Vardon away from
home and was beaten. But now, more
than thirty years later, We find him
still the wizard with the putter but
slowed up on account Of the necessity
for long carries both on the drive and
the second shots. At that his total of
1874 for the So holes was better than
some of the younger pros.
l. The gallery was there IN all its tickle
ness. Hoffner was accompanied by a
goodly throng after his tying round. but
his second place position at the end Of
the second days play did not safety
the onlookers. He went the last day
from morn till night with never a wit
ness of his play.
Desert Ouimet for Brady.
Hundreds followed Francis ouimet,
and half the number sped at once to
where Brady was playing when they
heard that the latter was In a good
! scoring mood.
Ono group. however. I noticed. fol-
lowed the champion Chick Evans from
the start TO the finish. being faithful
long after he was a known loser OF his
title. The reason for this, many told
me. was that they had very few cppor-
tun'ties to watch a golfer whom they
considered a true form player. and the
shots made them hang close. The iron
shots were present. but so also was
the putt missing regime. which seems
to have returned to the amateur title
holder.
1t seemed a pity to see two fine shots
to tpe green go for naught because the
ball was hit feebly with no confident
air, such as was present at herion.
Unless this putting touch Of frn.ness
l 49,,
champion the coming fall. AT that il
was a splendid Job to secure a place
In the money. and as the only amateur
Evans deserves the highest praise. What
a rout II was for the amateurs who in
the past have given the professionals
something to worry about! Nine of
these ten places in the prize list went
to professionals, and that. as one said.
is the just proportion.
The homebreds were supreme. and our
Judgment is that they will remain so
for some time to come. This past week
tried to analyze the reasons why such
golfers as the brilliant Gilbert Nichols
and Jock Hutchinson. the clever Bob
Macdonald and Louis Teller, Pat
Doyle and others failed to keep in
the forefront of the field and come
nearer to winning. The chief reason,
believe. is that the homebreds try
hard all the time, having before them
a goal and a prize which spurs them
on to their finest efforts without caus-
ing any mental anxiety. while the brill
liant foreign players after one or two
good rounds become unnecessarily
worried at the approach of a stacking
up in the game and therefore lose con-
troll of the nerves.
Match and Medal Play.
High strung golfers usually are
brilliant; clever. steady performers with
the stress OF high competition through
player begins TO think OF the scoreboard
when he goes out in a IS. but the steady
homebred thinks only Of the tenth hole.
II Is a matter of temperament mainly.
1t will be remembered. perhaps. that
in the +. G. A. match play tournament
the brilliant golfers were the winners
with Barnes and Hutchinson In the
finals. In match play each hole is a
contest in itself. having no bearing on
what has gone before or is ahead. and
that Is where the temperament OF the
Scot and the Englishman, Irishman and
Frenchman has greater play.
Why does Mike Brady have a bad
round--so bad in fact that he always
jeopardzes his chances to the end? That
is a question which was asked "a hun
dred times the past week. In his case
the answer is very simple. He keys
himself up to the proper pitch and plays
the grand golf of which he is capable.
Given a lead he cannot keep his frame