Evening star., 1925-01-09

you've got to beat Jones'" every
body was telling me while trying to
give me advice Is to how this was to
be done.
What I wanted was not advice, but
quiet. l fianally found it in a remote
corner of the locker room. Hidden
there, ] stretched out fiat on my back
on bench. Just before it was the
hour to start out again 1 bathed my
face and head in cool water
For the first time since competing
in national open I was not tired
and anxious at the beginning of the
final round. I realized that with
Jones Mehlhorn and myself so closely
punched there was going to be a
tight struggle. But the Improvement
in my physical condition since my
operation and the general steadiness
of my game up to this point had given
me all sotts of confidence. l felt
that l would be able to hold my own
in the greatest opportunity of my
life.
Nerves Are All Right
On the very first hole I found my
nerves were all right. After a drive
of more than 500 yards, l overplayed
my second and had to chip back, ly-
ing feet from the cup. 1t was one
Of the sort of puts 1 had been miss
Us III IAc ilOiHllS, DuI lHlS time L
didn't fail
Well" said Leo, you had to scrape
that one, but you got it. Anyway,
it's the card and the pencil that
count"
The second was played in par, and
the third brought additional evidence
that l would not necessarily break
under stress. This is a 210-yard hole.
L sliced a spoon shot to rough, looked
n N M nd foil cd 20
and dropped my third 9 feet short of
the hole. But 1 sank my putt, and l
felt that if l could do that after my
other mistakes my nerves were all
to the good. I went out in 3S, which,
considering the high wind, was good
enough. Word came back that Jones
had taken a 3S and Mehlhorn a 80.
So L was no worse off than at the
start.
My Best Play.
Jones had started off the final nine
holes with 6-5-5, 1 was told, too,
while Melhorn, playing gjust back of
him, had taken 4-3. / did the tenth
and eleventh in As. So at this point
Bobby had fallen back slightly. 1t
surely was a tough battle. At this
point 1 met Frank Kennedy Of New
York, one of the best authorities on
the game living.
How are you going?" he asked.
Fine, I feel. Is there anybody
ahead of me?"
Don't you be thinking if there's
anybody ahead Of YOU he said.
Mind your own game"
NOW, look here, Fred" I said, II
want to know exactly what's happen
ing. I'm not afraid"
"Wpll" he Ve0tured ST think the
ran that can break 300 will win"
l felt sure / could do this. Par five
on the twelfth and three on the thir-
teenth, followed by birdie four on
the fourteenth. had brought my total
to PSI. l could take 18 strokes on the
last four holes and still get home in
299
The troubles 1 had had on the dog
leg fifteenth moved me to play safely
this trip. But the hole was my. jinx.
1 missed a 4-foot putt and had to
take my fourth consecutive five
there.
Par for the three remaining holes
was 4-3-5. l could break 500 by get
ting 4-4-5, one over par.
On the sixteenth. or lake, hole I
made the shot that clinched the
title-the best play, under the con-
ditions, I ever have executed. Previ-
ously / had been hooking my drive to
the left to get a better play over the
lake, and thus had found the rough.
This time ] purposely aimed to the
right of center, ultimately ending up
right in the middle of the fairway.
Now it was necessary to play over
the lake, which ran up close to the
green, and at the same time hold the
latter. If l overran the green, there
w3s a good chance that l might get
into the water coming back. On the
other hand TOO short a shot wouldn't
get over the hazard. A carry of 175
yards was absolutely necessary.
This play has been described SO
often that 1 will not repeat all the