New-York tribune., 1922-07-15
By Grantland Rice

SKOKIE COUNTRY CLUB, GLEN
COE, ILL.,, July 14.-Through the Skokie
valleys to-day that meandered along
under high, blue summer heaven
five great galleries charged like cavalry
troops in the wake of noted golf names
that are now household words from
cheap apartments to country estates
There were thousands in each of these
trooping army divisions, and they could
see in their impetuous rushes only
such stars as Hagen, Hutchison,
Barnes. Jones, Evans and Duncan.
But while all this noisy fanfare and
raging tumult was taking place around
the noted sons of Scotia's ancient game
short, swarthy Californian, with a
short, swarthy pipe IN his mouth, was
slogging along to low score in the first
round Of the nationa. open golf cham
pionship: Only scattered few native
sons followed him to give cheer and
John Black, from the Claremont Club,
of Oakland, Calf. He is a grandfather
--at the age of forty-two. Not over s
feet s inches in height, with the wide
shoulders and the broad, deep chest Of
blacksmith, John Black puffed upon
his equally squat pipe all day and
tapped the ball into the hole. For
eight hours John Black kept that highly
redolent briar between his teeth and
for eight hours John Black played the
best golf of the day. His days total
was 142 for the thirty-six holes. Next
to him came William Melhorn with ia,
while Walter Hagen tied for third with
Eugene Sarazen at 145.
Unheralded and Unfollowed
All day long, unheralded and unfol-
lowed, he was quite content to let the
greatest gallery ever known in the
history of American golf go raging
and whooping after the big names as
he slogged quietly along, slapping the
small, white ball down the middle of
the green fairways, firing his ap-
proaches at the pin and dropping his
puts for steady fusillade of par. He
must have smiled briefly on more than
one occasion as he saw the vast crowds
pursuing other idols and leaving him
as much alone as il he had been one
of the Skokie guide posts. The crowds
have followed false gods before. why
should they follow a grandfather
through competition where only i'm
mortal youth was to be served? Yet
when Hagen, Barnes, Hutchison, Dun
can, Evans, Jones and the great elect
had turned in their double cards there
was John Blacks name at the head Of
the parade with 142 strokes, three
strokes in front of Walter Hagen,
holder of the British championship
title, who started out as if he meant
to wreck the field with sensational
68 for his mornings march.
Black, once carpenter and golfer
from Troon, Scotland. where he was
one Of nine gol6ng sons, came to Cali
twenty-seven. There are those. how
ever, who say that the California Scot
is up around fifty, rather than a mere
forty two, but what are. years when
one is a grandfather and can still lead
the greatest field of golf that ever
went to post?
Nerve-wrecking Drama
AS a result of this first days play
the battle for the open golf champion
ship of the United States gives promise
of being one of those nerve-wreckine
dramas that now and then tear the
souls Of big galleries into shreds. BY
high noon it began TO look as if Walter
Hagen, the great home bred, had
spread-eagled the field even as Jim
Barnes did year ago. He took Skokie
in the hollow Of his big, brown hand
and toyed with it for 68, reaching
golf heights that the duffer sometimes
climbs to in his happiest dreams
Black was three strokes back at IL
Hagen's big lead looked to be all the
more impregnabie when Hutchison
cracked badly, Duncan skidding, Abe
fCertiaueS on sase eishs,