Women's Golf.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 237, 7 October 1933, Page 6 (Supplement)

Women's Golf.

U.S.A. Championship.—English Contender Fails.—Honours to Virginia Van Wie. (By GRAXTLAXD RICE.) One of the greatest of all U.S.A. women's golf championships came to the final chapter with the Damon and Pythias of the ancient green standing face to face, at Highland Park course, Illinois, on September 2. They were Virginia. Van A\ ie. of Chicago, and llclcn Hicks, of Long Island, the closest of friends, each pulling for the other all through this fast and merry scramble. These two pals came through the semi-fmal round with crushing, blows that fairly hammered Enid Wilson and Maureen Orcutt off the Exmoor eourse. Virginia Van Wie, cool and steady, ljrilliant when she had to be, caught the British champion far olf her normal stride to win by (i and 5. Helen Hicks, moving at the same relentless pace, upset the long hitting Maureen Orcutt by li and 4.

The meeting of Misses Van Wie and Hicks was one of the most interesting chapters in the competition. Helen Hicks won the title in 1931, and Virginia Van Wie took over the crown in 1932.

Six weeks ago I happened to have a round of golf with the two finalists who meet in battle on Saturday over tho 30-holo route. Both were hitting the ball far and straight that day. It was suggested then that both wore good enough to reach tho final frame, and here they are. At that time Virginia Van Wie was visiting Helen Hicks. The next day Helen Hicks, started for Chicago to visit Virginia Van Wie. They are not only inseparable companions, but they have been playing together for the last six weeks. I honestly believe either girl would be just as happy to see her opponent win. This doesn't mean that they go in for any slack plf.v. They are not the type to let friendship interfere with the code and spirit of the game. The final Test, after one of the greatest weeks that women's golf has ever known, a week in which par has been cut to ribbons by this new feminine school that goes out to hit the ball, conies down to these two friends who have been in keen competition for several years with honours just about even. They were just about even in their semi-final charges, where they literally crushed two of the stars of the game in Miss Wilson and Miss Orcutt, who could never quite get going against the fast pace that never wavered.

For example, both Helen Jlicki? and Virginia Van Wie were out in .'57, two under par. At the finish of the double round Miss Van Wie was one over fours and Miss Hicks was even fours, and that is proof enough of the golf they were playing. Helen Hicks would have been one up if their cards had been matched, but there were two occasions when Virginia Van Wie played two fairly short putts safely where she had two to win.

The collapse of Miss Wilson, the British champion, was a big shock to the large gallery that followed the match under a hot, blistering sun. And yet to a certain extent J think the answer is fairly simple. Enid Wilson had been under a heavy strain all the week as the lone bearer of the Union .Tack. She had won the qualifying round in a 70. She had faced a hard light on Thursday against young Charlotte Glutting, of Xew Jersey, the girl who beat her a year ago at Salem. And yet she elected to practise over three hours on Thursday afternoon, a performance almost'certain to break up any rhythm or timing the next day.

No one can face a long siege of practice one afternoon and lie ready for any smoothness in play the next day. I still recall Harry Vardon's refusing to swing a club the day before a hard match. All through this week's play one of the finest shots Miss Wilson had was a short chip or a short pitch and run. She played this with the smoothest type or wrist action, without any hurry or jabbing day after day. The ball was always resting somewhere close to the pin after this shot. On Friday this stroke was entirely changed. On tlie first hole slio used a hurried jab, from just off the green, and was 20ft short. On the next hole, just off tlie green, there was another hurried poke at the ball, that failed to get halfway to the hole. The gallery gasped, and that isn't a figure of speech.

Here was a Weissmuller who couldn't swim—a Tolan who couldn't sprint. J lor most effective shot had gone where the woodbine twineth. There was evidently a nervous twitching of the wrists that refused all efforts at every control. Every goll'er has known this fatal break at certain times, it is usually The product of stalcness, of tired golf.

I doubt that Kniil Wilson would have beaten the fine, consistent golf of Virginia Van Wie under any conditions. The Final. Virginia Van Wie, a champion whose vocabulary does not include any four letter words meaning to give up, in tho final fought the battle of her 21 years to win her second consecutive women's national golf championship. The young Chicagoan, representing the Beverly Country Club, defeated Helen Hicks, of Inwood. New York, 4 and 3, in the 3(i-hole final match of the United States Coif Association's 37th annual tournament at tho Exmoor Country Club.

This victory carries with it not only the handsome trophy emblematic of the national championship, but another and probably more important distinction as well. That has to do with the question, "Who is the world's greatest woman golfer to-dav'.'"

After a week of. golf such as had never been seen before, there could be only one answer, particularly after the final —Virginia Van Wie. In the week Miss Vail Wie-played out ten full nines, and her exact average for these was 39. Par on the lirst nine at Exmoor is 39; on 1 the second, 40.

Joyce Wethcrcd, one of flic greatest women players of all time, is now connected with a London spoil i I it; poods house and-'is classed as a professional. Mrs. (Henna Collett Yare has been out of active competition since last year's tournament. Enid Wilson, the Kottingham, England, girl, came to the tournament hailed as Europe's linest woman golfer. What happened to Knid? She won the qualifying medal with an astounding 7ii for an all-time record, but she. was only two strokes ahead of Miss Van Wie. She marched through her first three rounds of match play with a disturbing case. Then she came to the semi-finals, pitted against Miss Van Wie, and was beaten, (i and 5.

Makes Comeback to Win. Miss Van Wie was forced to make one of the most spirited comebacks in the 37 years' history of the tournament to win her second crown in as many years, and with reason. Her opponent was not merely a good player who had battled her way up to the championship match. She was Helen Hicks, the ever-grinning girl of the football shoulders, and an old champion herself, having won the title two years ago. Her play during the tournament had been as brilliant as that of Miss Van Wie. She had matched Virginia's 78 in the qualifying round and had won most of her matches with considerably more ease. In the morning she wasn't long in letting Miss Van Wie and Hie gallery of 4000 know that she was downright serious about winning herself another championship.

If tliero is any doubt about the nature of the rallies Miss Van Wie was forced to make to stay in the running during the morning and the great finish she was called upon to make, it is necessary only to record that she was 4 down after tho fourteenth hole, and still 2 down at the mid-day intermission.

She regained a. hole in the afternoon, at; tho twentieth, but Miss Hicks again went - up with a. birdie at tin? twentylirst. The champion squared tho match at tho twenty-fourth, and went 1 up at tho next hole with the greatest runup putt of the tournament, the ball rolling more than oOft uphill into the cup for a. deuce. It was the first time, incidentally, that Miss Aan Wie had been ahead of Miss Hicks since they had left the first green.

Miss Van YVie increased her advantage at the twenty-seventh with a stymie which baffled Miss llieks. l*roni thero on the champion played her best

golf of the week, not allowing her opponent to win -me of the remaining six holes, halving four of them, and taking tho thirtieth and thirty-third with birdies, both the result of great iron shots such as she had used in defeating Enid Wilson.

ISotli winner and loser reversed the business of abusing par, Miss llieks shooting a, 7". two under par, in the morning, to Miss Vail Wie's SI, her poorest round of tho week. Helen was around the first nine in .'57, one over men's par, while Virginia took a 39. In tlio afternoon it was Virginia who completed the task of burning the eourse, doing it in 37, against Miss llieks' 41. Miss Van AVio finished the 33 holes two under women's par, while Miss Hicks was two over.