New-York tribune., 1922-08-23

4
golfer like Mitchell with only nine
hoies left to play and then winning by
up! That is precisely what Sir Wal
| Ter aid yesterday. When he stumbled
| INTO the turn for the inward journey
| IN the second round of this 36-hole
match four holes back and locking
! gium and downcast--so unlike the Ha-
gen most people know--a betting man
could have obtained odds of 20 to
that Mitchell would give the British
| open champion decisive beating.
but what change can be wrought
| IN few holes Of golf! AS he turned
toward home Hagen became new per-
son entirely. That change wasn't eff
1ected Immediately. There were GER
tain psychological happenings, par
tlcularly on the first two holes, which
aided and abetted the dashing Ameri-
can In oonquering the noted Briton.
Hls chip shot from the rough dead
to the hole on the tenth hole. giving
him a win for that hole, encouraged
hagen to keep plodding. Even a golfer
with stout heart like Hagen must
have some assistance from the ele-
ments of Mother Earth. At the next
hols Hagen holed rather difficult putt
OF about six feet and Mitchell missed
one OF not more than two feet-missed
1T badly, by hitting it off the line.
That particular hole and especially
that miss of Mitchelps saved Hagen
and spelled disaster for the foreigner.
Hagen was new man. Rather, he was
now the real Hagen, the smiling, debo-
nalr, confident golfer who senses VIC
tory and who feels it within his grasp.
Hagen seemed to quicken his pace as
ne walked to the next tee with those
! long strides. Undoubtedly his heart
was lighter Certainly his face was
and his brow was no longer wrinkled.
He stepped up to his next drive and sent
the ball far down the middle of the
fairway. That in itself showed that
great change had come over the Amer
lean. He hadn't been driving like that
on the outgoing journey, on which he
| took 40 strokes.
Although Mitchell hooked his drive
to the rough on the twelfth hole he
managed to get half and to retain
lead of 2 up. But there was no
restraining Hagen now. He was right
back in the match and fighting as only
| he can. He was hot on Mitchell's trail
and one could see by his determined
'cSh shaV IC was SOiliR 10 make a DAC-
tie Of 1t from now on.
| Two fine 4s on the next two holes,
where Mitchell took IS, put Hagen
back on even terms. There was no
stopping him at all now. The American
not only was hitting the ball at this
stage of the match, but he had got
back his putting touch. Why! right
after squaring the match didn't he 90
| to the fifteenth hole and sink twenty
Y1t,{% $1 hn
| rammed it into the cup with q firm,
delicate touch, as if it had been pulled
in by string?
That gave Hagen the lead he had
| held all through the morning round.
They halved the sixteenth. On the
seventeenth hole Mitchell pitched his
second up to within fifteen feet of the
flag. Hagen's second landed on the
edge, and. what is more, the American
was short on his approach putt. But,
oh! the intricacies and fickleness of
boldly for the hole and ran five feet
past the cup. Hagen sank his putt for
from distance of eight feet, and
Mitchell missed his putt coming back.
Thus did Hagen make a remarkable
come back in beating Englands ruling
match-play golfer.
In the morning round Hagen was not
hitting the ball any too well-many of
his drives were off the line--but he was
living up to his reputation of being
able to make sensational and effective
recoveries and he was putting hand
somely. His work around the green's
was superb in fact, and quite sufficient
to hold the hard-hitting Abe, who, of
late, has certainly become erratic as a
putter.
Given a ten-foot putt or one of longer
distance Mitchell would be likely to
hole out, but short puts were like
actually baked from even approaching
them On these occasions Mitchell was
like child without any sense of direc
sion. He threw away several grand op-
portunities and was rather fortunate
he was no more than one down on the
morning round, which was played as
follows:
oa'-nSss.i Misess,.: e. r.. ~ sss-ss sssss--ssss
lnMTsfn Mitsssii.. sss ss ss.ss ttsss--ssss--77ss
After missing putt of not more
than three feet on the first hole in the
afternoon and becoming two down,
Mitchell holed several long puts. He
was playing his irons marvelously well
and IN general outplaying Hagen. The
latter seemed like q man in a trance on
LAiS nail OF tne rounG. he was eltner
not concentrating on his game or he
was simply in the doldrums of golfer
suddenly bereft of his game.
He struggled gallantly without avail.
Mitchell was banging away at the pin
and Walter was striving to reach the
green. They came to the ninth hole
with the quiet and unassuming Abe
leading by four holes. A good putt on
the ninth enabled Hagen to get half
, and to prevent his opponent from OBJ
tanning lead that he, Hagen, would
have been undoubtedly unable to over
come The round was played as
follows:
Out: Hagen. ....4 36 45s 3 $40
Mitchell ..5 SD 4 2 6--35
In. Hagen 4 4 6-34-74.