BRITISH OPEN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 158, 6 July 1937, Page 7

BRITISH OPEN.

WORLD GOLF TITLE.

Record in First Qualifying

Round.

BOOMER AND H. SMITH, 69. Cuited Press Association.—Copyright. (Received 9.30 a.m.) LONDON, July 5. The qualifying rounds for the British Open golf championship commenced to-day on the Burnside and Carnousie eourses, a strong westerly wind having almost dried the rainsoaked links. The leaders in the first round were:— A. B. Boomer (Britain) and Horton Smith (United States). 69—a record for the Burnside course. Mahon, E. R. Whitcombe (Britain) and Gene Sarazen (United States), 70. W. Hagen (United States), D. Shute (United States), Bobby Locke (South Africa), Byron Nelson (United States), W. H. Green (Britain) and Stenhouse (Britain), 71. T. Manero (United States), G. Faulkner (Britain), F. E. Dennis (Britain). A. Perry (Britain), A. Boyer (France) E. Dudley (United States) and S. Snead (United States), 72. H. Picard (United States), Hancock, W. A. McMinn (Britain), Collings, Smither, Alastair McLeod (Britain), Jock McLean (Britain), H. Cotton (Britain), Dalleniagne (France), D. Rees (Britain), and A. J. Lacey (Britain), 73. W. Laidlaw (Britain), Anderson (Britain), Gregor, Mclntosh, McPherson, James Adams (Britain) and A. Gulhahl (United States), 74. C. Lacey (United States) 75. J. Revolta (United States) 76. A. G. Havers (Britain), 77. J. Kirkwood (United States) was well down the list with 77, and A. J. Padgham, last year's winner, took 78. The New Zealandcr, Tom Walker, required 83, and the Australian, B. Russell, 86. Sarazen, 'playing on the Burnside course, was out in 32 and putted magnificently. Two unknown Midland players, Green and Stenhouse, returned splendid cards of 71 at Burnside, where Dallamagne went out in 33 only to flounder on the homeward nine, which took 40. Two qualifying rounds are played to reduce the field of 300 to a reasonable number. Half the entrants played a round yesterday on the championship course, Carnoustie, and the other half on Burnside. To-day the order is reversed. Then the hundred playere returning the lowest aggregates and those tieing for the hundredth place commence the championship play proper. The Open is a 72hole medal contest, a round being played on Wednesday and another on Thursday. On the completion of these two rounds the field is again reduced, only the first 40 continuing in the final 36 holes, played on Friday. The British Open is regarded as the championship of the world and this year the Americans are making a bid to regain the supremacy which they held for a long period broken by H. Cotton's win in 1934] In the next two years A. Perry and A. G. Padgham, both British players, were the winners.