The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-22
LONG JIM BARNES FORCES TO FRONT IN NATIONAL OPEN
Pelham Professional Has Lead of Four Strokes Over His Nearest Rival
 R. Murray

professional from the Pelham, N. Y, i Country club, led an exceptionally high class field of golfers with the first day of the golfers of the twenty national open goit championship over the course of the Columbia Country club.
 Barnes score for the full 36 holes today showed an average of one strong par for each nine holes or total of four over par for the days play. His IA was also three under the score of the first days turned in by Ted Ray of England, winner Of the 1920 cha mpionship. The difference was partly due to the shoter yard age of the local course as compared with the Inverness course at Toledo.
 Murray Second
 | Four strokes back of Barnes came Charles K. Murray of the Royal Golf club of Montreal, and Fred Mcleod, the local club professional, who tied with score of l49, Fourth place was held by Robert J. Jones, Jr., of Atlanta The youthful southern anna teur, with his l4g, led four contes- tants in the 150 class. after Which the field aligned itself in groups, ranging in numerical order from l5l made by Charles Evans, Jr., of the Edgewater club of Chicago, national amateur champion, to Jim Donnachie with total of lSl
 | Long Jim Barnes, as he IS sener- ally known among the golfers of the old and new world is playing his way to what is generally considered com manding position in the struggle for the national open championship, and today showed brand of almost per- feet golf. The Pelham player was the class of the field for the day at least exhibiting the most consistent golf, being good in every department of the game. Even tho super critical could hardly pick flaw in his work, the nearest approach to mediocre play being few scattered short iron shots.
 Barnes Has Advantage
 Barnes. in taking first place by four strokes at the half way mark, placed himself Tn commanding tournament position, but cannot ar ford to let down in his play ana must maintain the sama& high stan dard tomorrow to make sure of the prize. Never in his efforts for an open championship had he played to- days position. In the test he has lea at the end of Is holes, but never aS 36. golfng technicallty at one time threatened to check his career in the present tournament. question arose regarding the possi- of h d the play of the afternoon round. due to an unVerified score on one of the holes The matter was called to the attention of the United States Goit association committee, which ruled that Barnes was not in any way 10 blame for the slight infraction of the rule and refused to act other than to add an additional stroke to his score.
 Charles R. Murray and Fred Nc Leod who are trailing Barnes, are two dangerous opponents. Murray, with a card of 75-7S-liS, and M-
 Lcod. with 74-T4--14S, are wilhin striking distance should Barnes show the slightest let-down in his pres ent form. Mcleod putted excellent ply today and as home professionai knows the course like book ana might easily tomorrow shoot a 6S or 6s, which would place him along side the leader.
 Murray Plays Good Golf
 Murray, the forrher Canadian chamnion. also played excellent ant, consistent golf, hls iroE shots bon
 particularly good, although he hao ccasional trouble in getting dowh nutts. He is considered the dark horse of the first five. Bobby Jones, II he should play golf of the type dis- nlaved in the first nine holes of the afternoon round when he did
 two under par, has an excellent chance to place among the leaders Jones, who attracted the largest gar lery of the tPurnament today was extremely bad on the 1irst n'he holes. which he did In 40 He im- a nrovsd on the homeward nine of the forenoon and played really phenom- cnal golf on his outward tour after lunch Going back he was one un- der par up to the sixteenth hoie, ,one over on the sixteenth ana sew enteenth. and finished with par four. He showed flash Of his tenn perament on the seventh when ne missed a short putt
 Clarence Hackney of Atlantic City' Alex Smith of New London, Louis Teller, former French champion, oi
 West Newton. Mass. and Georse Duncan formed the quartet with the 15o score. National Amateur Cham pion "Chick'' Evans is expected py many of the experts to do better than 151 in tomorrow's round, ana some have placed his second day 5 l score close to IA. He was little cratic on the greens today, but was otherwise up to his usual standard. uvans is chased among those players vhe still have an excellent chance TOT the championship should Barnes faii away from the remarkable eoiiihs | form he experienced today.
 Mitchell Withdraws
 Although Duncan. the English "nro, is well placed, his partner Ahe Mitchell. noted for his remark : able long driving. picked up his ball this afternoon and dropped out of the tournament He gave as his reason the fact that he was. as he expressed fed up on golf and the hot weather and just quit. as he realized ne was below his usual standard. Ills wien- drawal from the tournament ieil Duncan as the only foreign compeu : tor in A position to threaten seri- ously a foreign trip for the American open championship cup
 This cup was on exhibition on the club house veranda today, being flanked by the English open cham : pionship trophy recently won by JOCK Hutchinson. The historic cup showed winners inscriptions dating back to 1872. | The weather todSy was rfalr ana :! cooler than yesterday, and the siight breeze did not affect the play in any manner. The course. too, was the fastest of the tournament due to the warm sun. which had dried out both