The New York herald., 1921-09-25
JESSE GUILFORD IS
NATIONAL AMATEUR
GOLF CHAMPION
Defeats Robert A. Gardner
in a Crisp and Cindery
Finish by Z and 6.
PLAYS LIKE A MAN OF ICE
Never Cracks a Smile, but
Holes and Holes, Proving
the Superman Of Golf.
BY KERR N. PETRIE.

by n Ehh ~. IEAhlE.
Special Despatch to THE NEW YORK HEnAlo.
ST. LOUIS, Sept. 24.-In the national
amateur golf championship of 1914.
played at the Ekwanok Country Club
turned to a rawboned country youth
with a crude style of play who had
come down from his home in New
Hampshire where he had won some
local fame to see what the big guns
OF the links were really like. The lad
was introduced as Jesse Guilford. but
beyond his phenomenal driving the
only thing that interested the gallery
was the fact that the newcomer looked
as if he had dropped from some pass
ing load of hay in the neighborhood or
the Ekwanok links
During these seven years that New
Hampshire boy. now a member of the
Woodland Club of Boston, TO which
Francis Ouimet also belongs. has come
forward in the world of golf by leaps
and bounds. To-day on the 100 acres
of reeking Missouri soil known as the
links OF the st. Louis Country Club.
still quivering with the excitement and
rocking and reeling from the salvos
Of applause and the thunder of thou
sands upon thousands of rushing feet.
this Jesse Guilford spread his gleam-
ing pinions, broke through the choking
miasma of commonplace that chains
the common herd Of linksmen TO earth
and hitched his glory to the stars.
Guilforl now is the national amateur
champion, for in the thirty-six hole final
of the annual title tournament of the
United States Golf Association he ran
Robert A. Gardner of Chicago. twice
former winner of the title and runner
up last year in tho British champion
ship, to 4 crisp and cindery finish,
rushed him to down deficit in the
morning play of eighteen holes and bun
| died him out of the limelight by the
| one sided margin of up and to play.
A Cyclone of the Links.
Such finishing as Guilford displayed
seldom has been seen in the final OF
the classic Jesse's long driving has
made his name. II Is taken for granted.
The Woodland representative Is one 90
the cyclones of the links. II Is seldom,
however. that a long walloper ever
combines direction and accuracy. This
is where Guilford rises above the ruck
He Is the Ted Blackwell OF the links
and the Harold Hilton rolled into one
II Guilford sank rne good putt to-day
he sank dozen. IN fact he rarely
missed anything that Offered chance.
and II was this deadly finishing cou-
pied with the great accuracy OF those
hurricane wooden and iron club shots
that did for Gardner.
Bob has played many a better game.
For the second nine holes in the morn
Ing. In fact he was absolutely helpless.
and although he made a fight of II in
the afternoon the stand came far too
late. The best he could do was to clip
two holes from the morning lead of
up enjoyed by Guilford. That was ac-
complished at the fourth. This started
Guilford going again. and from the sixth
to the ninth he registered a quartet of
brides that simply plunged Gardner
right over his head into the morass OF
defeat
Little Willie Hunter. walking around
as one of the marshals for a crowd
which could scarcely have been properly
handled by machine gun company fully
equipped for warfare, no doubt was won
dering what IL was all about that Gard
ner should go back on him this way.
fail so ignobly TO touch his true form
against Guilford when he had been such
a power the day before In the semi-final
when the elements made the Eams a test
for a man of iron
Chick Evans. too. was watching the
game from behind the ropes: watching
H. that is whenever he could get a
fleetng glimpse OF one OF the con
testants. But Chicks reasoning was
very likely In different channel from
that OF the British champion. Evans
had been tricked by the weather man
undoubtedly. II Is doubtful, howevss,
II he could have held Guilford in such
a moo5.
No Weakness In His Game.
TO which no cne but his own intimates
believed he could attain. He was the
superman Of the links both on tee and
green and there was nothing about
his intermediate game that showed the
least weakness.
Jesse holed and holed and holed as
II he were a man of ice. Never once
all day long did he crack smile Right
down the line all through the burning
day as the crowd sasped and waliowed
In an inferno OF heat went the siege
gun OF Boston blasting his way through
TO the greatest honor that iinksmen
can achieve. on this vast continent at
least. and riding rough shcd over tho
reputation Of the man who had rgursd
in four American national finals. WON
two of these, and besides had held tne
gallery enthralled at Muirfield as he
wrestled with Roger Tolley on de-
Gliding putt on the thrty-seventh hoJs
OF the British amateur championship
last y-ar.
Grand golfer that he undoubtedly Ia.
Gardner to-day was a mere toy In the
hands OF this strapping player from New
England. Never all day long did Gull
ford look like anything else but cham
pion. There was no stage fright about
him. no timid stabbing at puts, OF
tensIng OF the muscles. no stiffening ol
the arms or wrists when meeting the
ball either with wood or iron.
Guilford played golf as X II was
merely q part of tho natural process OF
living az simple az wallowing or even
breathing Had there been any weaken
ing on the green's Gardner might still
have made fight OF 1t. But with the
Bostonian hollng practically everything
and Gardner missing often ana mi-cr-