Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-01-24

On tho third day Of the British
championship tournament the Amerf-
cans at Sandwich experienced another
surprise They were Just beginning
of Travers when the second heavy
blow fell
Although this was the third day
of the tournament, II was only the
second match for Francis Ouimet and
his opponent Mr.. II. s. Tubbs. They
had both rested the day before. and
the winner of their match was sched-
uied for another match In the after
noon. For that reason their play was
set for 9:24. Ny own game was not
10 start until 12:45. and 1 remained
quietly for an early luncheon at the
hotel in Deal The disconcerting news
of Ouimet's defeat met me when L
reached the club. 1t was rather shock
ing at the time. but as 1 look back
upon it now from calmer vantage
point think that many of the things
that happened to US then should have
been expected.
Perhaps we were taking ourselves
too seriously. or rather we were TAX
ing Ouimet and Travers too serious
Iy. for / do not think that the rest OF
US really hoped in the bottom of our
hearts for much more than a good
showing. But there was tendency
. to state il mildly. to think that, be-
cause Ouimet had beaten Vardon and
Ray in America and Travers had sail
ed triumphantly through several of
our national championships. either.
or both. had good chance OF
defeating the best BrltonS on their
own courses. We were reasoning from
the wrong premises all through. FIVE
rounds. all SO holes except possibly
one, and a good draw at home were
one thing. and eleven rounds, ten at
eighteen holes, against plus men in
Rritain were decidedly another.
Ouimets opponent Mas Mr. n. s
Tubbs of the milestone Club, which
is somewhere on the south coast OF
England and not far from Sandwich
He. of those magnificent young
giants so often seen on English courses.
had been scratch at his club when but
seventeen years old and was then plus
He was rwenty-Six years old, six
feet, two inches in height and bronzed
as an Indian. I cannot find that he
had any big tournament successes to
his credit. and l do not think that
any one before the match had the
slightest doubt of Ouimet's coming
through. His success was one of those
foreHone conclusions that concluded
i. otherwise.
The golf played by both was merely
fair. To use a commonplace express
sion. Ouimet never struck his stride.
At the short sixth Ouimet was two
down and he was one down at the turn.
At the fourteenth he was three down,
but on the sixteenth he reduced il
10 two. and on the seventeenth he
sent il down TO One. His chances
began to look good Winning the
eighteenth hole would probably have
presaged victory on the nineteenth.
but. as said before, Ouimet was not
going his real gait, and his second
shot rolled off the back edge of the
;-reen. while Tubbs' just reached the
'front.' edge Ouimet putted to within
seven or eight feet of the hole. Tubb' s
putt left him with but three feet to
cover; half seemed certain. Mr..
Ouimet missed his putt and held out
his hand the game was Mr.. Tubbs,
up.
There is no better sportsman any
where than Francis OF imet, and there
tore it is almost superfuous to say
that he took his defeat we'll 1t seems
very hard at the time to feel that one
elias travelled thousands of miles only
TO encounter defeat, and the blow
falls all the harder when man has