Evening star., 1933-11-08
THINKS SECTIONAL
TESTS SUFFICIENT
Would Have These Survivors
Begin Title Competition
at Match Play.
BY w. r. McCALLUM.

ROM sources close to the
r. moguls who govern the
i game of golf at headquar-
ters of the United States
Golf Association in New York
comes word that at last the U. S.
G. A. Is going to spring the
bombshell that has been expected
for several years with respect to
the change in the rules govern
ing play for the United States
amateur golf championship.
Welded to the old-fashioned scheme
Of a 36-hole qualification round for
many years, the U. S. G. A. is declared
to be ready to take the long leap away
| from the time -honored custom in the
1884 tourney at Brookline and try out
the British system of running the anna
teur championship sans qualification
| round at the scene of the tourney
The scheme. as it is outlined by those
close to the throne of the game, is this:
The sectional qualification rounds, or
| elimination trials, will be continued as
they have been played for the past three
years, with 128 contestants to qualify
in 20 sectional districts.
These 1913 qualiiers then will go to
the championship scene and start in at
once on match play regimen with
out any further qualification rounds.
This would make seven rounds of
match play and necessarily some of
them will be over the short distance Of
Is holes, while certainly the final and
r,t-C Va fIo E,3o1 ole rr{l - -
| SO holes.
THERE have been two major objec-
tions in the past to the old
system of qualification at the
| scene of the championship. First Of
these is that such system takes too
much time and stretches the tourney out
| to a SiX-day event. Second is the
acknowledged fact that the qualifca-
ton round takes too much toll of men
who might win.
IT'S true that Jones never missed
| qualifying in the days when he was
| failed to make the grade. Bob Gardner
failed to qualify when he held the title
years ago and Harrison r. Johnston
failed to qualify for the defense of his
championship in 1880.
Many Other stars have failed time
and again to take the qualification hur-
| die, among them Jess Sweetser, a match
| player of the first water, whose pet fear
Is the qualification round. This year
| such stars as Francis Ouimet, George
Voigt, Billy Howell and Frank Dolp all
failed to qualify. some in the sectional
| tests and others in the medal round at
the Kenwood Club, where the title tilt
was played.
Under the new system, which may be
put into use next year, it is reasonable
to assume that such outstanding play
ers as these will survive the sectional
rounds and then will go directly into
the melee of match play.
"HE British system surely would
| put an end to the complaint that
the championship takes too much
time. Just how the match-play rounds
would be apportioned by the U. S. G. A
Is not known, but If only 1913 players
are eligible for the tourney it will take
a maximum of five days to decide a
champion, even If both the semi finals
and final rounds are at 36 holes.
Seven rounds In all would be played,
so the championship would start on
Tuesday. to wind up Saturday after
noon. which would lop day of the
time required and save the contestants
considerable time and money.
| AS the tournament now stands, most
Of the players arrive at the scene of
the tourney on the Thursday preceding
the Monday on which the qualification
rounds start. Under the proposed
scheme they could arrive ON Saturday
and still have three days for practice,
ample time to familiarize themselves
! with all the tricks Of the layout over
which the tourney will be played.
The U. S. G. A. has shown healthy
tendency to try any scheme which will
| aid tbe players and at the same time
| go through an orderly process of arriv-
| ing at worthy champion, ranging from
the 16 qualiflers Of the 1927 tourney at
Oakmont down through the present sys-
tenn Of sectional qualification rounds,
which is by far the soundest system of
| them all
The British system might well be
worth a trial. Certainly out of such q
tournament worthy champion should
be crowned.