Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-09-05

DILLY BURKE, the new open
X golf champion of the United
- States, presents one Of the
most interesting studies we
have yet had. In the first place,
he Is one of the few I have ever
known, I might almost say the
only golfer I have ever known,
who could keep his game at razor
edge through two hard weeks Of
competition. And this competition
was all through blistering heat
which makes the handicap even
greater. I think Burke's scoring
average from the Ryder Cup
elimination rounds on through
the double play-off is one of the
greatest things I have ever known
in golf.
How he was able to turn in that last
II after such long stretch Of fine
golf. after such q week Of pressure, IS
something beyond me. It not only
proves that he knows how to hit q
golf ball, but also that he Is supplied
with an unlimited amount of courage,
stamina, nerve control and the ability
to keep his concentration unbroken..
Any golfer who comes up to his game,
his best game, is lucky to hold it for
a week at time, so far as competitive
golf goes. Burke held his peak form
through u holes of qualifying for the
Ryder Cup team, through ~ holes of
Ryder Cup play, or nearly that much,
and then through IA holes of open
pressure without slipping or breaking at
any stage. He is bound to have nerves
OF steel, strong legs and more than the
usual amount Of determination. For
George Won Elm Is a great fighter as
well as great golfer whom no one
can underestimate at any moment of
match.
PURKE'S style is in some degree q
- departure from what We have come
to look on as the mold of form
He bends over the ball bit more than
Is usual among the first-rank players
and consequently there is more of a
bend in his elbows as he places the
clubhead in position back of the ball.
AT the same time his demeanor as he
addresses the ball suggests the taking
OF infinite pains. He impresses me as
a player who has learned his game
through lot of hard work. as con-
trasted to one who has come by it
easily and naturally. 1t is a little
difficult to express just what I mean
here, but I think any one watching
him will readily detect a N'Terence
between him and such play :, say.
Hagen, Won Elm. Mortie 7 :, Gene
Sarazen and others.
It seems to me that 7 e Is one
Of the few men in golf Tho. though
the right hand does not actually don1i-
nate the stroke, do let it play rather
manage to keep it from doing any
damage. Instead Of pulling through
with the left hand with the appearance
of big lash his right comes in as he
hits. Burke seems to pull through
with both hands, If such a thing is
possible. But apparently there is no
tendency with him to let the left arm
collapse utterly and to allow the right
to overpower it. And this is one Of the
most impressive things to me about
his play. I have never seen him hit
a shot which indicated that this was
on the verge of taking plc ce, and con-
sequently I have never zen him hit
what could be called a terrible shot.
A MOTHER action in Burke's swing
IA seems to me to be at variance
with the practice of many of the
other good players. This is the way
he handles his head. Just as he starts
the club down he lowers his head per-
ceptibly. This means, of course. that
it must come back up again by the
time he hits the ball. So far as I was
able to see this never really affected
his play at any time. Yet in combina-
ton with the bent elbows it does, I
think, explain why the right arm and
out the swing than we ordinarily ex-
pect. Whether Billy is working out
and developing his game to its present
high plane has ever thought conscious
ly of these things In just this way, I
don't know, and whether he has or
not. 1t is just as we'll He has devel-
oped a method that suits him, and that
serves him well.
CERTAINLY whatever is said about
~ his swing must be good. 1t is hard
to imagine how any one could
have played the golf that he played
beginning with the Ryder Cup trials at
Columbus and ending with the second
play-off at Toledo. After the Ryder
Cup matches. wrote that the kind Of
golf which Burke was playing was just
the thing that Inverness required, and
said that Burke's amazingly straight'
play from tee to green would make him
awfully dangerous on narrow course
like the Toledo layout. But hardly
had any idea that he would be able to
keep up such a consistently fine pace.
He must have been worn to a fragile
by the time the tournament proper was
over. How he kept going on and on
through two extra days Of play when
the going was as tough as Won Elm
made 1t is one of the wonders of the
game. And this is especially true since
Burke. usually fine putter, I believe.
was having absolutely no particular
luck on the greens.
(Copyright, 1917