Evening star., 1926-04-29


The entry list was so large that it
was necessary to divide the field INTO
three sections for the qualifying
rounds. The first section played
on Monday and the second Tuesday,
but on Wednesday there was a heavy
downpour Of rain throughout the day.
so it was decided to postpone the
play Of the third section until Thurs
day. This meant, of course, that the
players who qualified on Monday had
to wait around until Friday to start
play in the actual championship test.
No doubt 1t hurt the chances of some,
though it could not well be helped.
Hutch Displays Form.
The promise of low scoring was
fulfilled on the first day of qualifying
when Jock Hutchison brought III
rounds OF 67 and 68 for Il total of
1876 --by far the lowest total ever
made in thirty.six holes Of play In
connection with the national cham
pionship. 1 had a 90 on my second
round, giving me 144. Seventy wasn't
broken in either the second or third
qualifying sections, but It was made
by several different players.
But in the championship proper.
when returns for the first days play
were all in, John Black from Califor
MIA, a veteran at the game, and
player that few had expected to figure
prominently, was found TO be out in
front. He had two fine rounds. of II
each. and led Bill Mehlhorn by two
strokes. Walter Hagen and Gene
Sarazen, who had had a fine Winter
and early Spring season down South,
were tied for third at 145, and Bobby
Jones was fifth at 146. There were ten
or u dozen others close behind. / had
149, and was hitting the ball we'll
enough, except that 1 was not putting
very well.
At the finish of the third round
Jones and Mehlhorn had displaced
Black as the leader. Bobby having
Carded a 20 on his third start, the
two having 216. Black was 8. stroke
back, and right behind him were at
least a half dozen, who might still
come through. AS for myself, a II
on the third round practically finish
ed my chances.
The finish was one of the very ex-
citing kind, where all kinds of rumors
and reports were flying about the
course. An enormous crowd was on
hand, and in many cases the fairwayS
were narrow and lined with Woodla nd
so that some matches had a gallery all
along the way on both sides, prac-
tically from tee to green. l was paired
in this last round with Black, and
when he finished the first nine l didn't
see how anybody was going to beat
him out. He played that nine in 33
strokes, truly great golf. He started in
with 5, but got back to even As, and
a 3 at the thirteenth. He had a 5
at the long fourteenth, but got the next
In, l0 I1n,x
pened that cost him the championship.
On the seventeenth tee he hooked into
the woods on the left, and the hole
cost him a 6.
Meantime, Jones was taking SO to go
out, and Mehlhorn 3S. but Sarazen.
like Black, got out in 33. Starting out
on the round, 4, 4, 8, 3, Gene had
taken on the fifth hole and figured
that he had about thrown away his
chance. But after playing rather
badly up to the sixth green, he got
down good putt for par 4. Then
on the short seventh he holed another
long one for birdie 2, and from then
on he went like a house afire. He came
home in 35 for a total Of 68, which
enabled him to nose out Jones and
Black by a single stroke.
Sarazen Keeps It Up.
There have been few championships
where more excitement attended the
finish. Sarazen'S victory marked the
first for the young school of players
who have really come forward since
the war period. Later on in the season
he also won the Professional Golfers
Association championship, giving him
q record Of two National champion
ships in one and the same year.
The years of 1923 and 1924 were
both lean ones for me. finished in
the money in the open championship
at Inwood, where Bobby Jones won
the title after a play-oR with Bobby
Cruickshank, and in 1924 I was the
runner-up to Hagen in the Profes-
sional Golfers Association champion
ship, making two times that I had
finished second and two that I had
won this event. In the 1924 open l
did not get a chance to play, owing
to a mix-up in getting my entry in.
A plan Of having the professional