Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-05
STRAIGHT OFF THE TEE

A ND while we are on the sub
~ ject Of Merton, we would like
n to say a word about as nasty
whisper that emanated for
Philadelphia newspaper man regarding
the actions of one of the best loved
youngsters that ever swung a golf club.
We mean Roland Mackenzie, the Co
lumbia youngster who has been on
three Walker Cup teams, and certainly
is one of the worlds leading golfers, by
anyone's yardstick. Roland was said
to have been so disguised with his
opening score that he threw his ball
of the eighteenth putting green into
the crowd in anger and is said also to
have been SO nettled that he wouldn't
turn in his score, and the officials had
to chase him into the locker room to
get his score card. Not true at all
Roland was playing badly, no doubt
of that. He had little chance for
practice prior to the championship; his
swing was not grooved and the young
ster was nervous as he started out.
Before long he began to kick the ball
all over the golf course, when his swing
became unhinged and his tee shots
casually the most reliable part of his
game went haywire. But through 1t
all he was trying. And you can't hang
a man for trying. And he was smiling,
too. We saw him putt on the eigh-
tenth green, and We saw him toss the
ball to his caddie, after he had holed
out. And then Roland went in to the
clubhouse. He wasn't disguised. He
wasn't mad. But he felt that he had
made a bad showing. Lots of the COM
petitors tossed the ball to their caddies
as they finished, just as Roland did,
and they were not subjected to "razz-
ing" And about the score card episode.
Roland explained to me that he
signed his partners score card, and
his partner signed his Roland's)
The Columbia youngster thought that
was all there was to 1t, and an official
went into the clubhouse to ask Roland
to sign his own card. That is all there
was to the score card episode. Perhaps
we shouldn't say anything about 1t,
but these nasty rumors have a way of
magnifying themselves all out of pro-
portion, and Roland Is too good a
youngster and too fine a golfer to have
shuch stuff said about him. Particularly
when 1t Is all wrong.
TT was queer championship in many
i ways. In the first place the Walker
Cup team took an awful seeking.
Two members failed to qualify. and four
more went out on the first day of
match play at the hands of youngsters
who had little consideration for the
team. Ouimet, Willing, Won Elm and
Voight all were dropped on the first day
OF play by, youngsters of whom COM
paratively little had been heard. But
that is the way in these sudden death"
l8-hole match play rounds. They
knock 'em off quick. And Mackenzie
and Johnston failed to qualify. Maurice
Mccarthy made a great showing. His
match with Won Elm was one of the
epics Of the game, surprising any
match ever before played along the
ancient green, and the lad with the Irish
name from Flatbush settled any doubt
that he is great golfer by laying a
pitch and run shot dead on the twenty
eighth green to win from the Detroiter.
Tired from that match, and nervous
as a cat, Mccarthy fell before Sweetser
the next day. But he had demonstrated
his greatness beyond doubt. Is he not
Walker Cup team material in 1892?
We know that Maurice slept hardly q
wink the night before he played Won
Elm and that he was so dog-tired he
could hardly lift his arm over the last
and won. Such lad deserves q place
on any international team.
out at the Chevy Chase Club Bob
~ Barnett, who Is q lover of the
game of golf, II ever a man was
has started formation of a golf library
which he hopes some day will be
crammed with books on the sport
Barnett already has the nucleus of an
unusual collection and hopes he will
have enough to fill his bookcases.
LAVE you heard Of the bet which
i / young Billy Shannon made with
his dad-Herbert T. Shannon
! the genial president Of the Columbis
! Country Club? Billy and his big dad
were tanning In the locker room a.
Columbia q few days ago, about hare