ENGLISH AMATEUR

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 13, 15 July 1937, Page 24

ENGLISH AMATEUR

SWEENY'S PROGRESS

Robert Sweeny, of the Royal and Ancient Club, the London-American Oxford Blue, winner of the amateur championship at Sandwich, was born in California, and spent his boyhood in France, but completed his education at Oxford, playing in the University team of 1932. It is interesting to note that both the amateur championship and the English amateur championship have this year been won by Oxford Blues. Prior to this year his biggest success was the winning of the Prince of Wales's Cup at Prince's, Sandwich, three years ago; two years ago he reached the semi-final of the amateur championship at Lytham and St. Annes, but was beaten by r,awson Little. He plays most of b; = golf at Prince's, although in this year's championship he entered from the Royal and Ancient Club.

Sweeny started the week well with a 2 and 1 victory over Harry Bentley, last year's English champion, and though he had one or two close matches in the early rounds, his golf seemed to improve as the week went on. In the quarter-finals against Wilford Wehrle, a young American who was "first amateur" in the Western Open Championship last year, Sweeny was out in 34 to be 3 up at the turn, and won very comfortably by 3 and 2. In the semi-final he overwhelmed Charlie Stowe, the Midlands artisan golfer, holing a twelve-footer for a 2 at the eighth and putting his pitch stone dead at the ninth, just as he had done in the morning,- to be Qut in 32 and 4 up. He won the next two holes as well, and was four under 4's when he finished off the match by 6 and 5.

In the final against Munn, he started of! in the same fashion, holing a twenty-footer for an "eagle" 2 at the third and being three holes in front with four holes played. He needed that early advantage later on, however, for Munn, rolling the long putts up to the edge of the hole as he had been doing all the week, began to haul in the slack. Sweeny, out in 34, was only 1 up at the turn, and still only 1 up at the end of the round. In the afternoon a stiff breeze affected the quality of the golf, and Munn took the lead for the first time; but Sweeny's amazing shots to the pin gave him the lead to win 3 and 2.

party in the present Diet will infuse a stronger brow of liberalism in the national outlook in the near future. The leader of this party, when returned in the 1936 election, outlined his programme as a pacific foreign policy, control of capitalistic activities by constitutional means and the curbing of the wasteful excesses of individualism and militarism. It is not lao much to hope that the Emperor himself would subscribe to such a policy, nor is it too much to congratulate the Japanese champions of democracy on the. probable instalment of liberal legislation which it seems reasonable to expect from the seventy-first session of the Dieti