The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-31
By CYRIL WALKER,

 1924 American Open Golf Champion.
 It is of more than passing interest that the two most important golf titles in this country should at present be held by men who have had to overcome physical shortcomings before they could succeed-the national amateur by Bobby Jones and the national open by myself.
 In the case of Jones, his weaknesses were conquered while he was still but lad and in his early teens he had reached a condition of good health that has remained permanent In my case, however, although a feeble child hood was succeeded by a period of comparative robustness, this matter did not last. The time came when fresh ailments developed that made my earlier misfortunes seem trivial. These persisted until a short time before won the championship.
 As a baby, I was undersized and lacking in vigor. Then when was 2 years old l had an accident that threatened to end my life.
 Has Bad Accident.
 Riding my hobby horse in my par ents' home in a suburb of Manchester England, backed against big, stone basin in which my mother was mixing boiling hot starch, while her attention was directed elsewhere, and fell into the mixture. The scalds which I re ceived left marks which are still on my body. I was long in the most critica condition, it being doubtful whether would live or die. For two years was, so to speak, lon my back un able to take part in childish pastimes
 Inclined to be small in stature, was I believe, additionally handicapped il my growth by this accident. So whe1 I finally began to take part in thu neighborhood games l was not so TO bust as my playmates. l had alway with me my mothers injunction to "b careful of myself.
 My spine had been affected, too, ant I was highly nervous, condition o which l have not yet thoroughly ri myself.
 Nevertheless I played little foot ball and cricket as the years passed I was ambitious to do more, but m activity was circumscribed by my COT dition and my parents watchfulness. Then, in Thy eleventh year, an even | occurred InHL WdS LO dIIeCl Iut ~Uul course of my life
 Through A Fence. We played our cricket and footba games in open ground adjacent to tn school I attended. Beyond the foo ball field was the nine-hOle course ( ) the Clayton Golf club. Sometimes football would be kicked over the hig . fence that surrounded the course an it would be necessary to retrieve One day the gate was opened to me 2 that I could recover ball and I @ my first glimpse of the then, for m ' mysterious Scotch sport.
 My curiosity was piqued. On a SUI ceeding Saturday l mt with a chul to peek through the aforementione | fence and get a better idea of whl was going on upon the links. As luck would have it there was shortage of caddies that day. Tw , members came up to the first tt faced with the prospect of having carry their own clubs. Then they sa ! us. We were invited to climb Ovt the high fence and make ourselvt useful. We responded with alacrity.
 Before the day was ended had bee permanently stung by the gOlfing bul
 The sixpence I earned, added to otl CTS that came later, was used to a' qlire a cheap lofter, a club that al priAimates the mashie of today. Sul sequently I acquired a brassie, also (