The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-09-16
ROBT. GARDNER LOW SCORER IN QUALIFYING ROUND OF NATIONAL GOLF TOURNEY
Bobby Jones And Chick Ev- ans Tie For Second Place With Score Of 75 Eaoh

CHICAGO. Sept 1bs--(BJ Asso- clated Press. .)-Robere A. Gardner of Chicago, twice title holder, today led the medal scoring in the first Is holes of the qualifying round for the national amateur golf champion ship at Flossmoore with a par of T4, while Bobby Jones, Atlanta, national open champion, and Chick Evans twice amateur and once open winner, tied for seo6nd place with T6,
 Only ona stroke behind. Albert Seckel of Chicago and James ManiOn we St. Louis tied for fourth place with 76, while Rudolph Knepper of Lake City, Francis Blossom and Dave HeEron of Chicago had IT for the 6,704-yard links, which proved so dif- ficult that all but a score of the players took so or more.
 It was the second year In success sion that Gardner had led the scoring In ths first half of the qualification, having scored 71 at Brookline last year, only to slump to 80 the second day and drop the gold medal to Jesse Guilford Cf Boston. Guilford today did not show the golf wherewith he defeated Gardner two years ago at St. Louis in the finals, taking 45- 4o-s3 Another Boston former cham pion, Francis Ouimet, had some hard going taking 43 on tho second nine for an so, the same score made by less Sweetwater of New York, pres ent titleholder.
 William C. Fowlkes of Pittsburg, title holder several years ago, scored good 7S, one stroke better than Willie Hunter of Los Angeles, for merly British champion. F1ndl2y Douglas of New York, who won the crown 25 years ago, took S4 today, and unless his score on Monday IS materially better he stood in danger of failing to qualify.
 James Stewart of Mexico City made a fair bid for qualification with Ss, the same as RedverS Mackenzie or Montreal Frank Thompson of Toronto, former Canadian champion, was off his game and ran up a total of go, virtually eliminating himself, but his brother, ". J. Thompson. got at S3. John c. Anderson of New York, once runner up in the event failed for the second time in IT years to qualify when he withdrew after taking nine strokes on the 12S-yard water hole where he changed from golf to water polo for a time, sink ing three balls in the pond, which stretches from tee to green. K. H Williamson of Newton. Iowa, state champion, was another to fall. tax ing s2. Richard Walsh of New York. public links champion. made a good bid to qualify by shooting 49-39-Sl.
 Gardner shot nine holes in par and got five birdies, including three in a row at the finish, but he went two over perfect figures, with six on the 417-yard sixth hole. where nis second shot hit tree at the elbow of the boomerang hole. He WSs one above par on three holes. his birdies just cancelling his overshots' so that his total was "A.
 Jones and Evans had exactly du- plicate scores for tho first nine, eacn going above par on the sixth and the short seventh, and being exactly par on the other seven holes Tor 2 3S Coming home, Jones and evans duplicated par on the first two holes, but Chick got birdie four on tns long twelfth to Bobby's par rive Jones got a birdie two on the baby thirteenth, but was two over pal four on the 33S-yard fourteenth where he hooked his drive into a thicket whence be barely extrl cated himself with niblick. He fei. short in three and finally missed short putt. A
 Chick slipped a stroke on the fiji teenth where Bobby had par, bu still was one stroke ahead of the open champion. Jones evened the score by getting a birdie three on the 357 sixteenth although his drive was sliced .o the rough, but Evans was one stroke to the good after tn seventeenth as he got a birdie four to Jones' par five.
 Evans finished considerable time after Jones, and with two fine wood- en shots was almost on the 497-yard eighteenth green. He ran his ap- proach to within four feet of the cup, but the ball bobbled the cup on the down hill putt, and he failed ny a hair of tying Gardner and was even with Jones'
 The leading cards with par: