The New York herald., 1921-05-29
WOULD SEND 20 OR
25 GOLFERS ABROAD
America May Make Even Big
ger Effort in British Cham
pionship Next Year.
BY JOHN G. ANDERSON.

1t seems almost like hunting for the
proverbial needle in the haystack to hit
upon the reason or reasons for the dis
aster which befell the star American
golfers In their assault on the battle
nents of British golf. Various and
varied have been the guesses. The is
hole round does not suit the Americana
play is one. the weather is another.
change In food and drink is a third, too
much publicity Is fourth. and SO on.
But not one of these. nor all combined.
can effectually dispose of the situation.
Ouimet. Evans. Jones and Guilford
out of the running before half the cham
pionship tourney was over. along with
all the rest OF their compatriots save
one. Was 1t the 18 hole round instead
of the 36 which caused this upset? All
we can say Is that ever since the 36
hole matches have been In vogue in the
United States amateur championships
there have been well over a hundred
matches played and only eight per cent
OF the number have showed a different
result in the last Is hole journey over
that Of the morning round
Up to the time of the Detroit tourney
| in 1915 it was almost foregone conclu-
sion that the leader OF the morning round
would be the eventual winner. In that
year there were a number of reversals
but since then the golfers who have been
ahead In the morning have usually in
creased their lead in the afternoon. The
fact that they have played better would
seem to prove that the lax periods which
| 36 hole match induces was not taken
! advantage Of to any great extent.
There is a vast difference. however.
in the number of contests. To win the
American title a golfer need be success
| full in but five matches after qualifying
while eight victories must be chalked up
! in Great Britain. There Is real differ
ence here which must have some potent
| influence bearing upon the need, not
particularly for brilliant goh but for
steady golf with a reserve of brilliance
which can meet the unexpected
! If you will ztudy the play of the for
mer champions of Great Britain espe-
! cially that of Hilton and Ball. both with
4 reference TO their failures as well as
many victories, you will discover these
traits, the superlative in steadiness plus
| the instant response for brilliancy.
Burning Candle mt Both Ends.
| In no game is II possible to keep UP a
brilliant streak of play over a fairly ex-
tended period. Babe Ruth knocks out
| homer and then strikes out twice: a
| horse seldom wins twice in succession.
while in golf. a high strung game in
| championship play. brllliancy is like
| burning the candle at both ends X that
brilliancy is sustained over long
| stretch of play.
But that does not prevent our golfers
from striving for the low scores through
\ tba ,,,aJit,,,, 80 hriIfiapt shots Rail and
Hilton had many tussle which brought
them near the home green. but they ex-
erted n bit of extra force and determina-
ton in their game and this made the
difference Rarely. If ever. has one of
these players been beaten in an extra
hole match with the two outstanding
bits Of play being Hilton's win Of the
American title at the thirty seventh and
Balls defeat of Abe Mitchell for the
British amateur title at the thirty
eighth.
The American golfers. especially the
| big three. are brilliant golfers. The sue
cess which has attended their open
championship efforts proves that un-
| doubtedly But the experience in British
amateur golf shows that after brilliance
slackness appears. which in the eighteen
| hole matches Is fatal 1t may be just
| the time for the opponent to be brilliant
and the reserve store of brilliant shots
is too barren for the needed response.
In our own championship this year we
understand that sixty-four are to quail
ify with couple Of eighteen hole
rounds. Not bad idea in light of
events. Surely not single argument
can be sincerely held that the eighteen
hole round as in force In the British
championships does not produce the best
real champions. Hilton and Ball with
dozen or SO to their credit prove that
while the failure at all times OF the
brilliant Jack Graham assists the theory
! from the other angle.
The weather this past week did none
! OF the things which were expected to
hurt the chances OF the Americans. The
greens were keen and better adapted
to the finer putting touch of the golfers
from this side. while the wind was con-
spicuous by its absence. Unless the best
OF care was taken of the diet a real rea-
son may be found in that circumstance.
AS TO too much publicity, there should
be no fear that 1t hurt the game of the
players The reports of the extremely
low scores made In the preliminaries
were near to the actual truth and far
removed from the scores in the low and
high SOS made by the players when they
| were defeated