The New York herald., 1922-08-02
BLACK HARD LUCK
GOLFER OF SEASON
Grandpa Now Fighting for
His Life as Result Of Motor
Accident.
ny KERR N. PETRIE.

After reading the Associated Press
dispatch from California yesterday tell
ing of the serious accident to John Black
there could not remain a doubt in the
mind OF any golfer as to who is the prize
hard luck linksman of the year. Black,
who lost the national open championship,
/ at Skokie two weeks ago through an out
Of bounds hook at the seventeenth, now
would seem to have taken strangle
hold upon the hard luck title by term-
rating a motor trip the night before last
in a hospital at San Jose with concusson
of the brain and several fractured ribs
For Black II is just one more adverse
break" in the game, an odd one at that,
for while Gene Sarazen. who by single
shot annexed the championship, Is still
| listening to the eulogles of his admirers
and receiving presents galore, the man
who had the prize In his fingers and lost
| 1t through two unlucky shots at the
same hole. is battling for his life, doc
tor. nurse and the loyal little wife who
embraced him at the conclusion of the
play at Skokie. watching him as he
struggles through the bunkers in this,
the biggest and most bitter fight OF his
career.
Some idea of the uphill game that
Black Is now playing is given by the
first bulletin issued by the physicians
who first attended him, stating that the
"Old Master" had not n chance to live.
1t Is n pathetic coincidence that Dave
Black. another of the famous golfing
family, Is at present in a hospital In
Vancouver. Dave. like his brother John,
was at Skokie for the national open.
Word of John Blacks crowning mis-
fortune comes at a time when magazines
still are carrying columns of his exploits
at Skokie as well as pictures of the man
who. as the p. G.. A. magazine just to
hand remarks. was "the sensation of the
tournament" For indeed no more SEN
| sational figure than that of the Clare
mont grandfather ever has been seen in
an important tournament in this coun-
try. Black came to Skokie practically
dark horse and at 43 years this fine
little golfer led the field over the first
WEAKNESS probably would have annexed
the honors OF the classic.
Barnes Gives Opinion.
Only the other day Jim Barnes was
going over the scenes and incidents of
the play at Skokie. Jim played with
Black on the last day. THAT tourna-
ment surely was John Blacks" was the
Pelham mans comment.
Barnes believes that Black would have
won had he not tried to pitch for the
pin at the fourteenth when the cup was
cut away In the corner of the bunker
guarded green. 1t was brought to
Barne5s attention that Black had de-
clared at the conclusion of his last round
that he did not try to cut 1t too fine.
''He said the same to me when told
him he had made mistake" commented
Barnes, but / think nevertheless that
John was tempted to go for that flag pin
instead of playing for the open green.
He was little eager after skying that
tee shot and leaving himself short"
| In one week OF golf at Skoke Black
showed beyond all peradventure that
friends in California claimed him to be.
Someone with a taste for statistics has
figured that with the qualifying rounds
included Walter Hagen would have
won the championship. He would have
beaten Black by three strokes with
rounds of II, TO- 6s. II. "A. 72 as against
70. rs. II. II. rs. 72. However before this
Black In practice averaged an even 70
| for four rounds with 81, 73. II. SO. Thus
In his ten rounds played at Skokie the
Claremont professional averaged 71A
strokes per round, very fair week s
performance. 1t has to be admitted.
/ Golfers and sportsmen who saw
"Grandf. .ther John, perform these
feats are now pulling harder for him
than they did for him to win the cham
pionship. No linksman ever made so
many friends in the course of a single
week.