The New York herald., 1921-10-07
LAST British GOLF
! INVADER IS. BEATEN
Miss Edith Leitch and Mrs.
Latham Hall Lose Hard
Matches.
FOUR CONTENDERS LEFT
Miss Alexa Stirling, Title
Holder, Forced to Her
Best to Win.
FOUR C0NTENDERs LEFT

might can draw his chair up 10 the Tire,
put on his slippers and smoke his pipe
in perfect compiacency and peace OF
mind Ia the realm Of golf there are no
more clouds on his horizon. As his
An the open and amateur championships
Ms daughters have accomplished on the
Hollywood Golf Club links by turning
back the threatening British invasion
before any Of the opposing players had
gone as far as the sem.-final round Of
ahe American title tourney.
70 The last remaining representatives Of
the British contingent, Miss Edith
Leitch and Mrs. Latham Hall. both put
MP q rousing fight to-day In the round
gnd made their opponents travel all the
way In the end, however Miss Leitch
tell before Miss Elaine Rosenthal OF
Havisloe. Chicago. on the nineteenth
green, while Miss Alexa Stirling, the
american title holder, broke down the
stubborn resistance offered by Mrs. Hall
and won by single hole.
:, With Miss Stirling and Miss Roseil-
Marion Hollins Of Westbrook, l.. l., and
Mrs. Clarence Fl. vanderbeck Of Phila-
'delphia Cricket Club, the national
honors winner in 1915. Tomorrow in
.the bronze medal division Miss Rosen-
thai meets Miss Hollins while Miss
Stirling plays the woman with whom she
battled several extra holes at Onwentsia,
Chicago In the 1915 scmi-final.
!, Mrs. Vanderbeck won hollow VIC
Ca LtAxx- ~ noIr-
mont, Pittsburgh. the score being 6 and
q, while Miss Hollins had the satisfac-
tion OF eliminating the former Western
Champion. Mrs. L. c. Let's. Jr, the
player who won renown In the second
round by her victory over the British
eliainpion, Miss Cecil Leitch. The mar
sin by which Miss Hollins qualified for
the semi-final bracket also was conclu-
,sive enough evidence of her superiority
for she was enabled to bring the match
10 termination on the fifteenth green
when she was four holes to the good.
Mashie shots Decide.
But for her masterful ability in hand
Ting the mashie there is no telling what
might have been the fate OF Miss
Stirling. That useful club saved her
from going an extra hole at least. After
an over approach to the home hole the
champion pitched accurately back. hit
the exact spot at whica she was aiming
and by doing so laid the ball stone dead
and halved the last hole to hold the lead
OF ! which she had brought with her
down the eighteenth fairway.
J., Miss Stirling simply had to make this
perfect shot to hold her place in front,
for with brave brassie her opponent
had laid her second about fifteen feet
rom the cup and was all set for her
par. That mashie shot was the acid
test for Miss Stirling. It proved her
TO be a real champion, for the turf from
which she picked the ball was fairly
hard and the face OF the club had to be
inserted at exactly the proper angle and
the pitch aimed to the fraction OF an
Inch. The shot might have been played
with a run, OF course, but such plan
would have left too much to chance
% In all likelihood the ball then would
have stopped short after the break on
the bank OF the green. or perhaps have
gone rolling to one side. Miss Stirling
never gave the less courageous way a
thought. judging by her actions. She
could look along the stretch of putting
turf, waist high in front Of her, and
on that alone she glued her eyes and
centred her thoughts. The ground be-
tween the ball and the bank Of the
green she never saw.
pion proved so dexterous on that particu-
TAR shot, for Mrs. Hall almost hoied her
putt There was credit enough left for
ehe English woman. for she made Ameri-
cas- one and only Aiexa travel all the
way. Into the second half OF the match
vhe forced the pace. but the result OF
this was merely to make Miss Stirling
play better than ever.
Miss Stirling at Hep Best.
There has been much criticism of the
champions game since she first came
40 Hollywood to defend her title. How
ever. II has been noticed by close OBJ
servers that the Atlanta girl has played
gust well enough to defeat her oppon-
ents Jerome Travers used to do this
when he was winning Championships.
an this particular contest Miss Stirling
did find Ii necessary to rise far above
the mediocre. The English woman was
playing worrying game. She was
dangerous every minute. She vns
up mt the third and she carried over
IA lead of one hole into the second
nine and the American champion had
TO keep very alert to prevent her op-
ponent from opening wider gap on
the inward stretch.
On the tenth hole Miss Stirling was
n triflc lucky In getting half as she
started with tee shot that bent around
until 1t found the centre OF the seventh
fairway. Her second tackled practically
an extra hundred yards on the 475 yard
ssviv. tor this time the ball flew back
across the course almost to the out OF
bounds stakes. 1t was lucky for Miss
Stirling that Mrs Halls second was
bunkered. and more fortunate still that
In the long run the English woman
missed the short put. with which she
was left to win tho hole. For this
round the cup OF the tenth had been
cut on SO difficult an angle that Mrs.
Hall. usually .very reliable putter.
missed from less than yard
The eleventh found Miss Stirling at
her best. This Is hole of $50 yards
with the fairway narrowing away to-
ward the. green and n huge sand pit
ynwning almost from the point of woods
across to the boundary fence on the
right. Mrs. Hall had to extend her
self on her brasslc second and even
then tho ball, pulled to the right, per-
fectly clear OF trouble but much too
far away from the pin for a safe par 4.
Miss Stirling saw her opportunity and
embraced Il like n real champion. for
with spoon she placed her ball with
in ten feet of tho pin.
II was the shot OF Harry vardon.
Mrs Hall was too far away TO get dead.
She did the best she could In the circum-
stances. but Miss Stirling had her beaten
completely. What s still more i'm
~ 1o.f -.