New Britain herald., 1930-09-26
|OLD GUARD STILL l REMAINS IN PLAY
Bobby Jones and Jesse SWeetSer
 Meet at Merion Today

Merton Cricket Club, Ardmore, Pa, Sept. 26 P-The Old Guard dies but never surrenders. In spite of the devastation wrought by the younger generation in the ranks of the golf veterans earlier in the week, the semi-final round of the amateur championship today found two of the Old Guard left. Bobby Jones and Jess Sweetser, old men in golf at 2S, meet in one match and the winner will battle for the title with the victor in an all-junior match, Gene Romans vs. Charley Seaver.
 Bob and Jess, champions both, were born the same year within a month of each other in 1902, Jones in Georgia in March ~and Jess in Kentucky in April.
 The other semi-finalists are much younger. Seaver. a Los Angeles boy is only 19,- while Romans. who lives at Englewood, N. J., is p.
 The age equation did not enter into the match in which Romans defeated Johny Lehman, the west ern amateur champion, up and ' U play in the quarter finals. for they are practically the same in years, but young Seaver struck a telling blow for the juveniles when he defeated William F. McPhail of Boston, nearly 20 years his senior five and four.
 Jones disposed of Fay Coleman, young Californian, six and five 10 play, and Sweetser beat back a de- termined drive by Maurice McCar- thy, the young marathon golfer, five and four, after the former intercol- legiate champion had the veteran one down at the luncheon intermis- sion.
 The Hast four" today brought thrills to the staid Merton Cricket club course, with it's wealth of tra- djtion. When Jones stood on the first tee today only two 36 hole matches stood between him and his grand slam in clubs, all the major titles any man can win in one sea- son.
 Sweetser, his opponent, had d chance to make his comeback com- plete by beating the best golfer in the world. The big Kentuckian's brilliant career was interrupted by illness after he won the British championship in 1926.
 Since then he has Slowly but sure ly been beating his way back along the trap dotted trail Only one other native of the United States ever has won the elusive British amateur and Sweetser today match ed shots with him.'>
 If it is in the cards for big Jess to beat Rubber Tire" Jones, then he will have another claim to fame, for the records do not show that any one man ever has beaten Jones twice. Jess stopped Bob, eight up and seven to play at the Country Club, Brookline, Mass, in 1922 and the next day walloped Chick Evans and won the championship
 Sweetser for years was regarded as one of the two best manipulators of a mashie-nblick. the effective approaching club. Walter Hagen vas the other. Of late Jess has not had his deadly touch, but he seems to be regaining it. He never needed is more. Merton pays off handsome ly on mashie-nicblick artistry. There is a chance to use the club or half the holes.
 In the quarter finals Gene Ho- mans played the best golf of the eight men on the course. His swing i not so smooth as that of the other three semi-finalists but he gets re- suits and the ultimate settlement will be on that basis. Homans was captain of the Princeton freshman team in 1928 and promised to con. tribute a brilliant chapter to inter- collegiate golf, but his career was by illness. He is all right now. as witnessed by his win hing the last north and south anna teur championship.
 Seaver, a broth of a boy who should be a big man when he grows up, hits the ball great distances. H. came east from his far western home to prep for Princeton at the Hun school, but now has decided to go back to California and enter Stanford. Pop Warner unquestion- ably will be glad to see him in q football uniform
 The flag of the United States Golf Association has flown from the Merton staff all week. For the match the banners of Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stan ford might have been raised. Jones went to Harvard, Sweetser won the intercollegiate championship for Yale, Romans was a Princeton stu dent and Seaver is on his way to Stanford
 They were off early in the day. Romans and Seaver leading the pro- cession at S:30 a. m., eastern stand Jones and Sweetser follow ing at 3 o'clock.
 MhI0R TEAGHE IEAnERC