Evening star., 1924-03-12
THE MAKING OF 4 GOLF CHAMPION
CHAPTER I'LL Lead the
Field-and Then!

IN spite of Al Christie's ridicule l
almost persuaded myself to send
in my entry for that national
open at Buffalo in the fall of 1872.
| wrote out one entry blank-in fact,
took it as far as the post office, and
then tore it up. A day or two before
the tournament started | boarded a
train for Buffalo. As long as golf
was my game and as there seemed
to be fairly good living in 1t. as
well as the outdoor exercise and
competition l loved, | decided it was
about time I studied it at first hand.
was a very much thrilled though
inconspicuous figure as I hiked out
to the club links for my first glimpse
of the famous golfers. whose exploits
had long been heroic legends in my
dreams There / found myself face
to face with such men as Alex Smith,
Tom Mcnamara, Mike Brady and
Johnnie McDermott, the champion OF
champions. Long Jim Barnes was
there and ! marveled at his Skill and
i the nonchalant ease of his style. But
what struck me most, on that first
contact with the elite. was not their
PLAYING so much as the fascinating
habilments in which they played.
! Tom Anderson's style of makeup
greatly impressed me. He wore, as
remember. A fancy silk shirt with
black stripes and loud bandanna
handkerchief around his neck. Long
trousers were all the vogue in those
days; white or grey flannel, with very
large shoes and heavy woolen socks.
Nearly all the professionals were
dressed in this fashion and i must say
that it was a very comfortable outfit
for hot weather. If there were any
knickerS worn / do not recall having
seen them.
Buys a Striped shirt.
For three days l trudged over the
beautiful links of the Buffalo club.
well up in the front rank of every
gallery, watching each player like q
nawk ana making careful note of his
faults and virtues. Johnnie McDer-
mott, who won the title again that
year, impressed me deeply and cher
7, ished the thought of going back to
/ Rochester and telling my comrades
that had watched the biggest figure
i in American golf in action. It was a
grand adventure.
When ! got back to Rochester, how
ever, my first move was to invest in
a pair of light gray trousers, silk
shirt with stripes down the front and
| back. a bandanna handkerchief and a
large Scotch cap that set well down
over my ears. I took my share of
joShing at this get-up; but in some
miraculous way my game seemed to
improve. noticed that AL Christie
held me in greater respect thereafter
in spite of my rococo decorations.
1t was d long wait from the fall OF
1912 to the fall of 1913. I had made
up my mind to play in the next cham
-,
Along in April we heard that the
open was going to be staged at
Brookline. We also heard that Var
don and Ray were coming over from
England to take part. Vardon's name
in those days was the sine qua non,
or the ne plus ultra, or whatever you
call it, of golf. And Ray was also a
mighty big factor. as he was the
nanh GhamPGn 1bn of of fio reat Eritan
September was the coming tourna
ment and | took every possible min
ute | could spare for practice. My
game had come along wonderfully
and | was surer of myself in every
way.
First Venture L. Made,
At last the big week. arrived and
was ready for my first venture into
championship competition. 1t was a
week destined to make golf history,
but we little dreamed then what a
status of the game in this country.
l. When ! arrived at Brookline. one
of the oldest and most picturesque
courses in the country, l was all eyes
and curiosity. l took every spare
moment to watch Tardon and Ray, as
well as our own star players. John
ME McDermott, as / mentioned be-
fore, was the kingpin of American
golf and was looked upon as the one
most likely to stop the invaders. A
short time before, at Shawnee. he
had beaten both of them by at least
thirteen strokes and was considered
good enough to repeat
All eyes were on little Mac. and
when he failed to come through 1t
caused considerable surprise. This
was soon forgotten, however, in the
meteoric success of a young Boston
amateur named Francis Ouimet. then
only twenty years of age, who was
destined to win the big international
event. Golf enthusiasts will remem-
ber that Ouimet flashed into fame
that year by tieing Vardon and Ray
in seyenty-two holes and beating
them in the play-off. a remarkable
achievement incidentally, Ouimet
established a precedent for amateurs,
as he was the first amateur to win a
national open in this country. He
was followed by Travers, Evans and,
just recently, by Jones. Four out Of