GOLF.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16961, 9 October 1920, Page 7

GOLF.

RAY'S STYLE. SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS WIN IN AMEEICA. (SPICIAL TO "THE pbkss.") (Bt Abb Mrrcinrt.L.)

By -winning the American Open Championship, Ted Ray has gained a really great victory, for it shows us that at golf, if not in other spotts and pastimes, we can still hold our own against the strongest rivals. But it-should be realised that thougli Harry Vardon was second, only one stroke behind, this place was shared by three others, who are all, I fancy, truly American players, and the whole story of the championship suggests that in the next few years we shall seo some wonderful golfers coming across to play for our championships. "When Barnes was here he told mo that wo should soon be surprised by the ability of the home-hreds, a3 he called them, and his remarks are now seen in their true light, for it is quite evident that both Ray and V ardon had to play fine golf to retain anything lite a leading position in the early stages of the play. Because Ray has won this year, and also because Hagen and Barnes failed to wfn our cup, is 110 reason why we should not respect the play of the American golfer, for when Chick Evans was here, we saw something in the style of that player which was bound to be reproduced "frith effec in someone younger. The is nothing if not practical, and if practice can make a golfer we may bo sure that some fine day we shall see a man wo will play round in an almost faultless fashion. Chick Evans was only three strokes more than Ray, surely a great position for an amateur in what has been described as the finest championship that has ever taken place „ m x ,A That makes Ray's win all the more pleasing to us, but it tells us also what a very noar thing the victory wasi artno one is more fitted to standfliestra than "Ted," as he is known to his brother professionals. Big Ted takes all the hard and the kind kicks of the game in the propor spirit, and never complains about- his hard luck. He realises that golf .is out to beat yon if it can, and he strives m the biggest-h eartcd way to overcome its many difficulties. He enjoys the game too, and is never happier than . when playing a kind of scratch match with some of his members at Oxliey. VARDON'S HEROIC GOLF. Ray has done golf a very great service in this country, but purely the hero of the meeting is Harry Vardon. With one round to play, he foeld tho lead, but only by one stroke. That was a great piece of work, and when we remember that he won this same ArneS Championship twenty jears ago, it says wonders for his greatness as a golfer. It shows ns younger players that there is something more in Vardon's golf than we think, for it is quite evident that he rose, to the occarsion in the grandest possible* y nani ? er ; One can see him driving shot after shot down the middle, and when tlhe lon» approach came to be played, there he had all the best of the play, for m that shot I think there is really no one» «> compare with Vardon. I read or him missing putts, but one can well understand the strain under which he wad playing, especially us he knew only too well the value of all those shots winch once gone seem never to come back. Harry is now over fifty years of age; surely there is no finer tribute to his game than this American performance. Only those who play in these big meetings realise tho terrible mental strain which always threatens to overpower even the strongest. A GREAT BUTTER. Ray's putting seems to have bordered on the sensational, for he holed some very long ones, and at tfiie right time. To do this is probably the secret ot tnccess in a stroke event, though some say that if you play your bad shots at> tho correct hole, then is the time .yon win. But a good shot at just the right time will save a lot of worry, and probably mean all the difference to the score. 3>id not Sandy Herd lose his chance at Deal when he played a drive that was not quite a good one? There were many holes at Deal where one could almost afford to .take a little license in Slitting the tee shot, and where a half-missed one would not have meant a great deal. It was Herd's fortune that his half-bad shot was to the wrong hole. . ... Ray apneared to hole his putts just when tlhey were most wanted, but he is a beautiful putter, perhaps the best of all in the professional ranks. He has a fine touch, and the way he_ coaxes the ball tip to the hole is a delight. For sudh a big man, his short game is splendid, and it is this, rather than his driving, which makes him such a deadly opponent. , The only time I know of Ray discarding his aluminium putter was at Bramsnot, this summer, when' he appeared with an old rusty one, which he used very well. But when the championship came round, out _ came his trusty aluminium club again. .Some try now drivers just before a meeting, but most players stick to their favourite putter, evenwQien it has apparently ftst its cunning. Ray is no exception here, and even his wooden clubs sto all old friends.