The World of Sport

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 170, 19 July 1924, Page 1 (Supplement)

The World of Sport

I DOINGS ON TRACK AND HELD. §

(From Our Own Correspondent.) LON'DOX, May 29. ENGLAND WIN GOLF INTERNATIONAL. Scotland is still the home of golf, but London and the South have become the of the game. here was •idence of this in the international latch between England and Scotland tat Voided at St. Andrews. It -•_._ the fourteenth contest, between the rational sides, and only the third victory to the credit of the players south 0 f the border. But it whs a most conIcing one. In view ot the formation nf the new unions of England and Scotland it «s expected that several ' u j. players would be brought into the match but for the most part old internationals were called on, and it was Eignificant that those most experienced did best. Roger Wethered. the champion, led the £n-lish team, and he was followed by two ei-champions in Cyril To]ley and Ernest Holderness. All three won their rames, and their golf was perhaps the best displayed. Their form was watched closely in order to judge their prospects in the championship. Wethered is the favourite, despite the fact that it is recalled that the title has only twice been won in consecutive years by the same player. It would be a wonderful achievement if he were to succeed, and at the same time it would establish a double that might never again be equalled. Miss Joyce Wethered. Roger's sister, has once more gained the title of women's golf champion, and it would be a notable event if brother and Bister won the national honours in the Eame season. The women's championship was derided at Portrush, Ireland, and Miss Cecil Leitch had hopes of winning back the laurels she lost to Miss Wethered two Tears ago. The two rivals met in the fourth round. Miss Leitch held her own for seven holes, but then her opponent forged ahead, and in the end won very comfortably. So Miss Wethered is not only champion again, but every golfer regards her as the greatest woman player the game has known. From Ireland she went on to St. Andrews to encourage her brother. Tho huge field no doubt embraces much hidden talent, and the tournament is a high adventure with luck playing a vital part. So one is prepared for a surprise—for some man perhaps unfaneied, ' playing above his normal form for the week, and winning the prize. But it is a notable fact, as the records show, that not once has a golfer won when he was not worthy of. the distinction. This is all in favour of such players as Wethered and Tolley, though both are liable to strike a bad patch _nd lose to an opponent whom they would defeat nine times out of ten. This is the danger so far as they are concerned.

CRICKET.

There are indications that the South Africans are beginning to find their form, thoughithe weather conditions are still againsf theni. They have just undergone,an Informal test at Lords, where the;MiC.C. placed a very strong team in the field, and they came very well out of it. The M.C.C. were not far below an English side, but they were dismissed in the first innings for 145, of which J. W. Hearne made 59. Tile next highest scorer was F. T. Mann, who captained the last eleven which went to South Africa. It was a disappointing batting display, despite the conditions, being marked by hesitation. At the same time, the bowlers made excellent use of their chances, and they were splendidly backed up by the fieldsmen. The South Africans, in reply, made a <rood opening, Catterall and Taylor making a promising start; hut the effort was not sustained, and the tourists led by only 47. « the end, the match had to he" left drawn, but though the M.C.C. recovered to some extent, scoring 191 for the loss! ot four wickets, the visitors did not lose | their grip on the game. They went in' i°r a second time, and when stumps ' were drawn they had made 90 for the I jw of Catterall. Taylor was not out We are now drawing near to the first | test match, and an English trial has I JUSt started at Nottingham. The men : w-o represent England are led by A. E. f- Whgan, the Kent captain, "and it "not expected that there will be many ■ hanges for the test. The feature of "c eleven is that it ha s no "tail." Parwn is the worst hat, and he can make ___ \ ver y° ne else °n the side has At il, 1 hundred ™ first-class cricket. W.l S ? me time ' t],ere are seven bowlers, all 0 f whom are d en - ou __ h em,™^° n fi -" St ' So the is enC^ P ° S - ' but ifc i 3 that the oatamen must speed up their scoring if "•ey are to force a win in three days.

THE TURF.

Conf us . on In regard tQ the De kZ TT Worse "-"founded as the SUkeV , he race for the Newmarket hnS? ti T mile an d a-quarter Snt, C T, aUr *" gracing VresKLm* re 'gn'ng favourite at the C'flM* Km " ht ' was X ™ ten out of SaX t , llree ;. thoUfrh he flnishe( l »_I So", n a o Ie "g th of the winner. Then SXV eCaU f lle was only third, Jtttortly dunmed the bright prospects broaTvi UPP -°_ Sed t0 I,ave ' Ta king a W fr, w A,GC Ta y lor trained the thai „. ' WoUld be idl « to pretend ult w WM ™£ ast onished by the re ft Won° M PerhapS b6Caui « *™tq deaiofhardt^k^s as ir aC a e nr S fUn > Warm and tec" in' /"? ° U g° in g that was perft beenttte h % Conditioas cou,d not te s t ette Tll for an »*««** and test. The Craven Stakes had

left us no wiser; the Two Thousand (juineas left many folk guessing; and this third affair told us little or nothing, as I will endeavour to explain. The best-looking of the party of eight was Salmon Trout, the Aga Khan's second string to Diophon. The latter, incidentally, like Tom Pinch, was in this field. That may not be saying a great deal, for on the whole they were a disappointing lot. Yet Salmon Trout stood right out from the rest for his size, power, and excellence of outline. Bright Knight did not compare well because of his feminine head, light neck, and light bay colour. He was fit, beyond any question, and had gone the right way since the Two Thousand Guineas, but he is not to be compared with others of Lord Aster's classsic horses in recent years, as, for example, Buchan. Craig-an-Eran, and Tamar. Hurstwood is plainisb, and of a totally different stamp, though by the same sire, but obviously he had come on a lot since his undistinguished two year-old days. Sansovino has many pood points, but is lacking in that clearcut character which makes the classic horse. They were the four that attracted most attention, and they were destined to have an extraordinary finish to themselves. Despatch, the deputy for Tom Pinch, looked as if he had done a lot of work, and of the few others it struck one that Eaglestone, belonging to Sir Hugo Cunliffe-Owen, would see a better day. ll fhould be understood at the outset that the race ivus ? o poor at one time as to preclude all possibility of its having been run from end to end. Across the Hat they were just coming at a good healthy exercise gallop and it was not until approaching the Bushes that the pressure was really turned on. At that point Salmon Trout held a short lead of Sansovino. Frank Bullock had ! Bright Knight a length or two behind, ns it riding him for speed. If so, then the race was being run to suit him. Hurstwood was on the near side of Salmon Trout and going surprisingly well coming into the Dip ; in fact, one began to wonder when he was going to drop out. Sansovino was on the offside of the Aga Khan's colt and Bright , Knight was brought on the outside of Sansovino. The four camp on with little between them. One might then have picked out Salmon Trout as the probable winner, because of a belief that he would stay better than any other. It was just now that Bright Knight was urged to challenge, but, in doing so, he hung to the left and he may have squeezed Sansovino for room. Salmon Trout, • too, .could-.-have donewith more elbow room, and,.as the race, was run, the one best off, undoubtedly, was Hurstwood. They charged up the hill almost in a dead line. Half-way up Salmon Trout held a slight advantage, but nearing the post Hurstwood had been forced .into the lead, and he went past the judge a neck to the good of the Aga Khan's colt. Sansovino being a head further away third and Bright Knight could not have been more than a head behind the third. -Sow, could there be anything more surprising and in one sense irritating than this finish, spectacular as it certainly was? Somehow we got no forrader, for, of course, nobody thought of regarding it as anything else but a Derby trial. If the running be accepted literally then the Derby winner was not among them, and he would have been a bold speculator who would assist in keeping Bright Knight favourite. As a matter of fact, the direct outcome of the race for the Newmarket Stakes was that the layers at once offered 10 to 1 the field on the Epsom classic. A few days later, however, the rumour went round that Steve Donoghue had been approached by the Beckhampton stable to ride Tom Pinch if he could he released from Mr. J. B. Joel's retainer to be up on Defiance, and as [ this was a decidedly surprising move, seeing that there was trouble between j Lord Woolavington. the owner of Tom Pinch, and the leading jockey, owing to a suggestion that it was his duty to ride Knockando—second string to Town Guard—in the 1023 Derby, a rush was made for Tom Pinch who immediately ascended to the position of favourite once again. As I write, the colt that has finished fourth in the only two races he has had in his life is a clear-cut favourite, and it would seem that the belief in Donoghue riding tne fourth winner in succession at Epsom is extraordinary. You will, of course, know the result by the time these lines appear in print, but the events leading up to the great race such as I have outlined will be of some interest.

FINANCES OF FOOTBALL. A POOR SEASON. Though the footballer is enjoying a well-earned holiday, the huge business side of the game is always carried on. Club managers just now are busier than ever making plans for the next season, which will start three months hence. All are on the look out for new men, and usually at this time important transfers are arranged, but so far there has not been a single move of importance. There is the same shortage of players, and no club will willingly part with one Of experience, because of the difficulty of filling his place satisfactorily. Still, the quest for young men goes on. Another reason why there are so few big transfers is that the price demanded is almost prohibitive, in view of the fact that last season was not a good one from the financial point of view. The first of the balance sheets to be issued is that by Sunderland. The team were highly" successful, though they missed the championship, after appearing likely to win it, but they lost over £4000. Their total revenue was £25,000, and they spent £18,000 on engaging new men and in payin<* wages. It is said that the great majority of clubs will show substantial losses, and the most cheering thing in connection with next season is that they are to obtain some relief in the Entertainment Tax. Hitherto, they have paid to the Government threepence on each shilling taken at the turnstiles. It has not yet been decided what reduction is to be made, but it may be twopence, and this will be a great help to the struggling clubs, and indeed to all. It is claimed that the public ought to have the benefit of the reduction of the tax, and that there should be a return to the old charge of sixpence at the turnstiles. But in the present state of club finances this is not possible. AMATEUR GO!F CHAMPIONSH I must deal next week with the final stages of the Amateur Golf Championship now nearing its close on the classic links of St. Andrews. St. Andrews is a place which literally lives on golf. And no wonder. Nowhere in the world is there anything quite Uke the Old Course. To the keen enthusiastic golfer, the thrill as you stand for the first time in your life on the first tee, waiting to drive your ball down to the edge of the Swilcan Burn, is something akin to the feeling you get when you view the distant walls of Rome as you enter it by train from the North. "All the giants of the game have been doing battle on this classic ground during the week. There has been very little international flavour about the contest this summer, but the interest it has excited has been as great as ever. There was only one American competitor ancl he came all the way from Honolulu. Fancy travelling 16,000 miles to play a golf match ! Mr. Brow n of Honolulu is a little man with a big heart. He did not go very far, but that was because he lacked experience and did not readily adapt himself to our climatic conditions. Nevertheless he showed that he could " deliver the goods" and that he had every shot in his bag. In a practice round he actually did the eighteen holes a.t St. Andrews in 67.

I Some of the best golf of the to_.» ment, however, has been played by _,K\ Cyril Tolley. Mr. Tolley 'las fcf hitting his ball terrific distances, gtt6.B| past the pin with his second i_ot.H holes measuring nearly 550 yards, is|K playing like a lion whenever He <oWk sion demanded. Against his old -ppli_; nent. Mr. Gaunt, for instance, It £■ the first nine holes in 33. It says__ip_H for the mettle of his opponent 'tUB even so, Tolley at this Stage was 2 up. ! Mr. Roger "Wethered. however, IwH played what we call "patchy .tn-'E.. There are many people who think tiitfe. Wethered is the best, all. round 'golfer. ■ the world at the preyiit moment-no! ■ even excluding the professional- M|. is probably an exaggeration.