AMERICA’S GOLF AMBITION

Taranaki Daily News, 14 April 1932, Page 10

AMERICA’S GOLF AMBITION

TILT AT BRITISH LADIES’ TITLE. (By Harry Vardoti —Special to News.) It is good to know that the American lady golfers will be able to put their best talent into the field, when, in the spring, they make their descent upon British honours. Their four outstanding players of the past few years, Miss Helen Hicks, the new champion of tho United States; Mrs. Glcnna. Collett Yare, five times champion; Miss Maureen Orcutt, and Miss-Virginia Van Wie have all accepted invitations to join the expedition. I imagine that their effort to carry off the British championship will eclipse in interest even so important an event as their first officially organised team match with the ladies of this country, which will take place in the preceding week. Both events are in May. The piquancy about tho renewed attack upon the individual title is that, this distinction has so far proved beyond the reach of American players, although they have made many efforts to secure it. Mrs. Glcnna Collett Vare, for instance, has tried nearly every season during the past seven years, and probably been unlucky in not winning, seeing that she has entered the final twice. Tho men’s amateur championship has gone to America three times, and the open championship ton times. Everybody realises that it is rather remarkable that the British ladies have come scathIcssly out of a long series of transAtlantic invasions, and that an end to this success must come sooner or later in the natural order of things. All the same, the feminine forces of this country were never so strong as they are to-day. MISS WETHERED’S SUCCESSOR. I think it can be said, however, that the real corner-stone of the strength is provided by Miss Enid Wilson. Without her, the constellation of lady golf stars would lack a lot. It is not reasonable to attach much importance to her defeat by Miss Hicks by 2 and 1 in the semi-final of the American championship last autumn because, although she has not said so, I believe she could never settle down to the change of climate, diet and turf. This last-mentioned factor is said to have affected her form most of all. A little while ago everybody thought that Miss Joyce Wethered had attained a standard of skill at the game which no member of her sex could ever equal, let alone excel. It was one of the few ■points upon which golfing opinion was unanimous and positive. People who saw Miss Wilson win the British championship at Portmarnock began to feel that this view might have to be abandoned. To be sure, it is of little avail at present to draw comparisons between Miss Wethered and Miss Wilson. Miss 'Withered is essentially an artist—one who plays the shots as naturally and as easily as the bird flies. At least, that is how it looks; just effortless. Miss Wilson is rather in the nature of a worker at the game. But the final judgment’ has to bo based on results, and it would seem that Miss Wilson has every possibility of equalling even the feats of her greatest feminine predecessor. For one thing, she has physical attributes such as no other lady golfer of the front rank has ever possessed. She is only now learning how to restrain her strength, which used to make her hit harder than was either necessary, or helpful. I believe it was far and away the most difficult problem that her tutor, Tom Williamson, had to conquer in his coaching of her. But this capacity to stand the strain of gruelling tests is only the first contribution towards Miss Wilson’s potentialities as a world-beater of her sex. She has a consuming and Insatiable ambition to excel; ani. it is the simple truth that Miss Wethered never had an appetite of that kind. Indeed, the more she succeeded the more embarrassed she became by success; until at length'she retired at the zenith of her powers; apparently alarmed at having attracted so much public attention. Miss Wilson is in her glory when she is in the thick of tho fray. But she is a champion after the people’s hearts, for I am certain that, when defeat is her portion, she accepts it as part of the game. A HAR'D SCHOOLING. It is worth while telling a story which shows her patience in this direction. As a form of strenuous practice, Miss Wilson, has contested dozens of matches with Williamson on the Nottinghamshire Club’s course at Hollinwell —always on level terms and always from the back tecs. It might seem futile for a lady golfer to set herself to beat a firstclass professional on his own course in such circumstances'.

, In one respect it has been almost futile. In countless matches she has usually been beaten more or less heavily. I believe she has won twice, and then, so she explains, because Williamson was playing below form or because, as on one occasion, she laid him two Stymies in the last four holos. But this constant endeavour must have inured her wondrously to the quest of a new standard previously undreamt of in ladies’ golf. Some golfers were discussing the other day what chance Miss Wilson would stand if she were to compete in the men’s amateur championship. Most of them agreed that, with ordinary luck in the draw, she might reach tne last eight. The same used to 'be said of Miss Wethered.

Amazingly though the standard of ladies’ golf has advanced, it is a good deal more difficult for even its most accomplished player when she is driving against a man of the front rank and playing all the subsequent shots from a leeway against him, than when competing against her own sex. Miss Wilson has all the qualities for the adventure, but perhaps it is better that never the twain should meet in classic events.