New Britain herald., 1930-09-23
JOHNSTON NEARLY OUT 0F TOURNEY
Amateur Champion Needs a Good
 Score Today to Qualify

Merton Cricket Club, Ardmore; Pa, Sept. 23 R}-It is true in golt today that uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. After a distress ing score of S3 in the first quail. flying round of the national amateur pionship, Harrison R. (Jimmy) Johnston, faced the stern necessity today of getting we'll under 75 to De sure of entering the match play com petition in defense of the title he won last year in California.
 If the popular titleholder has to surrender his crown without even chance to defend it, it will mark the first time the golf fates have turned thumbs down on a champion in the qualifying play. Bad putting placed Jimmy's chances in jeopardy for in 8 holes he took 41 puts and as he needed only one putt each on two greens he really took 39 butts on 16 greens where 32 is considered the maximum in the best circles. ,-
 Bobby Jones who holds all the golf championships except the one Johnston hopes to defend. has no qualifying troubles. His better than perfect 69 left him in position where he could take S5 in the sec ond round and qualify. Jones led the field, he has often done so but usually it is after the second days play rather than the first.
 The contrast<in the play of the triple champion and the defending titleholder was striking. Playing effortless golf, with less than half dozen mistakes in the entire round and only one costly, Jones made the game look absurdly easy. He slipped a stroke over par on one hole, SCOT ed two birdies and played the rest of the holes in the figures shown on the card.
 Its great, of course,' said 4 member of the gallery, but it's not interesting. It's far too perfect. Only once has he shown that he subscribes to the theory that to err is human" Bob missed a tee shot at the l1lh, sending it to deep rough to the left of the fairway and could not put enough spin on his ball to hold it on the green, although he played d brilliant recovery. He slip ped over and took five on the par four hole
 Johnston, on the other hand, had completely misplaced his putting touch. Starting at the first green, he was well on with his second, left himself a long putt and missed it. This was bad for Jimmy normally is a good butter put the worst was yet to come. He drove the short third and again took three puts.
 There was hope that the putting lapses were behind him at the fourth, long, hard hole all the way, for here the St. Paul star sent a long iron five feet from the pin and holed the putt for birdie four.
 And then at the par four fifth, the champion was down in seven, penalty stroke on the way to the green, as a result of a visit to a wa ter hazard and four butts after he of hardly more than a foot. He three putted the sixth, too, and the tenth and ended the round with three butts at the homo hole for his ghastly S3.
 T just couldn't putt lick" said Johnston. He was assured that he would do better in the second round.
 'Is that because you think l can do no worse?" he asked. He is not yet out of the tournament but dan- serously close to the border line leading to temporary oblivion.
 Cohn~ton had plenty of company. Jess Sweetser, former champion of the United States and Great Britain, started today with an S1 against him for his first days work and Roland Mackenzie, Walker Cup player, used S3 shots. Cyril Toltey, twice British amateur champion was charged with g..
 George T. Dunlap, Jr,, Princeton intercollegiate champion, stood alone at II, but four able linksmen had scores of 73. The quartet included two former champions. George Von Elm and Francis Ouimet, Johnny Goodman, the man who beat Jones and Lawson Little, the man who beat the man who beat Jones.
 Three former star college players scored "A, Charles D. Hunter, Uni- versity of Washington; Donald NJ. Moe, University of Oregon and Sam Perry, University of Alabama. Phil Perkins, former British amateur 1 champion and runner up in the United States championship Of 1928 also posted "A.
 (. Ross Somerville, Canadian anna teur champion and David w. Ward. Grand Rapids, Michigan, covered the first round in "a.
 Several former ,hampions were on the border line, Charles (Chick) Evans, Jr., Jesse Cuilford and Will ! nam (, Fownes, Jr., each took 79. Chandler Egan had so. Davidson Heron had S2.
 The foreign contingent suffered heavily in the first days firing and indications were that few ctars from England, Scotland or Canada would enter the match play.
 In the first days play Bobby Jones furnished the morning excite 1 ment and Jimmy Johnston's near collapse featured the afternoon. To- oaE program reversed these possi- oiiit'es' Johnson was an early start . er' at S:o5 (E. S. T.) while Jones was scheduled for 11:5O. Maurice NcCarth. New York, play d the best hole of the first round by scoring an 1 acc on the 2l5 yarl fourteenth. The | booby prize went to Francis P Her | sey with 12 at the 11th hole.