The sun., 1919-10-05
MISS STIRLING WINS
GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
Again Carries Off HOnors by
5r Defeating Mrs. Gavin
IL by d and a.
f.
GIVES FINE EXHIBITION
Ut,
Poor Driving Proves Costly to
~ Loser-End Comes at
18th Green.
GIVES FINE EXHIBITION
Special Despatch to THE Sun.

18th Green.
Special Despatch to TIE Sun.
sHAwNEE-oN-THE-D DELAWARE, Pa, Oct.
4.--Miss Alexa Stirling OF Atlanta won
the national amateur women's golf
championship OF the United States for
the second time to-day on the links OF
the Shawnee Country Club. She de-
feated Mrs. w. A. Gavin of the South
Shore Club, Long Island, in surprisingly
easy fashion, the match ending on the
thirteenth hole, where Miss Stirling stood
g up and to play.
The cards were;
Miss stirling a,
Ss'':::::%s 'fs. ,..:::.., 80: "'
SSSat''.....stt 's'' ''
The playing through champion was on
her game to-day with vengeance, and
so deadly was her execution with woods
and irons that her formidable opponent,
formerly champion of the metropolitan
district, was able to win but one mole
of the thirteen played. This was the
short eighth, which she took in against
the Southern girls 4.
Miss Strings golf was easily the best
ever seen in a national title match for
women. She negotiated the first nine
4, holes in Al, and an approximation Tor
the bye holes gave her ~ for the
round, only six strokes over par. she
was two up at the turn and won all OF
the four holes on the homeward Journey.
Sho made but three errors In her
thirteen holes of play and they were
not costly, as Mrs. Gavin was unable to
take advantage of them.
Gets Fine Distance.
q. From the tees she was far and
straight and her approaches were
beautiful to look upon. Time and again
she drove the little white sphere on a
dead line for the pin. and with two ex-
7csptions was down in the regulation two
puts Her tendency to hook from the
tee, which bothered her somewhat in
her earlier matches of the tournament.
was absent to-day. Hardly once was
she Off the line and only once did she
fniscue with her wood.
Mrs. Gavin. who previously had been
the star of the tournament, was handi-
capped In that she had TO fight an up
hfll battle practically from the start.
II would hardly be fair to that excellent
player to say that she suffered from
nerves, although 1t was apparent that
she was a trihe overanxious and that
as the brilliant champion drew further
and further away she began to press.
She had some difficulty controlling her
shots, and while she made some of her
customary brilliant recoveries, she was
not able to take advantage of them as
in her earlier matches. Considering the
game she was up against It was won-
,derful that she held together as well as
she did.
1t was not an ideal day for good golf.
The match was started at 10 o'clock with
mist hanging so thickly over the course
that the large gallery was unable to fol-
low tee shots for the full length of their
flight. In addition there was heavy
layer of dew on the grass, which made
the going extremely heavy and pre-
eluded the possibility OF any run. Not
withstanding these disadvantages both
players got wonderful distance, many of
the tee shots flying so hard and low that
the spectators had to look twice to make
sure that the brawny shoulders of n
Hagen were not back of them Certain
II is that IL Miss Stirling had been pos
sessed of a mans strength on this day
of her young life she would have hung
up score for the Hagens and the
Barneses to shoot at for some time to
come. She had observation-disclosures, d.
reetion and stuff" when she needed 1t.
Champion Aggressive.
In addition she was magnihcently ag-
gressive. From the very start she took
the bit in her teeth and ran a race of
her own pacing. Confidence oozed from
her. She knew she was mistress of the
situation and showed 1t In her every shot.
1t was the almost universal opinion OF
those who saw the match to-day that,
barring accident, Miss Stirling will re-
tain the championship indefinitely All
the experts who saw her in action were
agreed that she is far and away the
class of the country. This is an opin-
ion that is reached from contemplation
of her all round game.
There are women players, like Miss
Hollins, to name only one of perhaps
dozen, who can get more distance from
the tee, for the reason that they have
more natural strength. But what they
get In yardage the little champion makes
up in direction and in judgment of dis
tance.
Except for occasional lapses she is
straight down the alley, and when her
drives do wander of the line 1t is gen.
orally to the left. which shows that she
is always swinging every ounce of her
small but compact and sturdy self into
the ball. Her general method and her
swing. with both wood and iron, are
things of beauty, more SO now than ever
Watching her In the championship
round to-day IL was hard to see wherein
thero cOulQ De Improvement, ana the
watchers could only wish she had a few
more inches Of stature and a little more
breadth of shoulder. just to see what
prodlgious feats she could make q golf
ball perform.
The next year at Onwentsia she went
through to the semi-final round, where
Mrs. Vanderbeck, whom she toppled at
Shawnee yesterday, was her oonqueror
after twenty-one holes of the hardest
effort The next year at Belmont
Springs, up in the Bay State, the At
lanta girl would not be denied and II
was there that she attained the height
of her golfng ambition, the national
championship. But to get back to to-
days play for the championship at
Shawnee:
Starting from the home tee Miss STIR
ling had the better drive. her ball clear
ing the ditch and coming to rest on
the plateau short of the green. Mrs.
.Csavins drive barely skipped the ditch,
but ran to the top of the hill. She
failed on her approach. however, the
ball going 20 the rough. She ohipped
out and came very near laying her oppo-
jent stymle. Miss Stirling, having
got on In 2, was down In more.
Mss Stirling mad the longer drive on
the second hole, her opponents barely
skipping the ditch. The Southern girl,
however. d!d not get quite enough push
into her mashie second, with the re-
suit that she fell short of the green.