AMERICAN GOLF.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 20056, 20 September 1920, Page 3

AMERICAN GOLF.

ENGLISHMAN WINS OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, HARRY VARDON TILLS HOW. The open championship of America nas been won by an Englishman, Tedwho with Harry Vardon has rocently been on-tour. in. the- States. Tho “ =«m hranoisco Chronicle,■ ’’ telling the stiory of the: big game, says':—Tjohn Bull - was more- successful' in his inyasiou for the American golf championship than was Uncle Sam in his rev cent effort to captHro the British chain* pionship, as after a. delirious fuiii at the Inverness Club this afternoon Ed»v«rd Bay, the burly Englishman, landed the medal emblematic of -the nalional open championship and Urn 500 dollars which goes with it. Bay iron it with a,, total of 205, closely pursued by Jock Hutchison, of Glenview, Leo' Liegol, of the Lake Shore Country Club of Chicago. Harry V-a-r----of England, avid Jack Burke, of the Town and Country Club of St Paul, who finished tied for •second’ place, one stroke behind the leader. Never in the history of the event has there been more excitement squeezed into the closing rounds. A gallery of 1500 traversed the course in the wake of Jim Barnes and Vari Wl i’ , and time- the ninth hole had been reached it appeared certain Vardon would reneat his success of twenty years ago, when he won the title at the Chicago, Golf Club: Ho was travelling along .at a steady gad, placing his shots where he wanted, and it did not appear possible anything could upset him. As ha started on his second nine holes a. stiff winddorm swept the course and Jim Horgau, Yardon’s veteran caddy, remarked : “ This wiil_ be line for Vardon, os lie can play in the wind.” Pretty soon word came that the groat Englishman was in trouble. He skied bis □rive for the■ twelfth hole and had to, force his second shot, the ultimate outcome being a. sis. This must have upset itlio veteran, as at _the next five holes lie counted >l , o, 5, G, taking one stroke over par at six successive holes- He finished with a- total of 296. which tied him with Jack Burke of St Paul, who had '■•omc from behind with two flue rounds ot 1 3, one of the best performances of the day. this was not considered good enough ns-Diego], Hutchison and Ray were still out, and from that point on the attention of the gallery centred on these tuen. Ray was the first of this trio, and when he reached the turn in 35 it looked easy for him to-\pass the tentative leader. He started at tho tenth with a- par four and then dropped three shots at the next two holes, and also went over par at the' fifteenth and seventeenth holes. Shooting a four at tho last preen he reached home in two and was down in two putts, taking the lend. Leo DiegeJ was next in. He had turned in 37 and on. tho final leg of bis journey shot four par fours. The: next three holes, however, put him off easy street and in a desperate position, lus figures for thorn being 6, 5. and 5. After that he played steadily, hut landed home, one stroke- behind Ray. Hutchison reached the turn in 39, and at the end of the return journey had to sink a. twenty foot putt to he with the Englishman. He missed, and Edward Ray, the , forty-thfee-year-old •Englishman, was crowned open champion of America. ' Chick Evans, -with rounds of 79, 76, (3, io,-making a total of 298. was the first amateur. He was equal with Jim Barnes (/G, 70, 7G, 76). and. well ahead of 'Walter Hagen (79,73, 77, 78—302). The detailed scores of, The first five are as follow; •' Edward _Rny. Endnnd . 74 73 73 73—205 Harry Vardon, England 71 7" 71 TS—23S Leo Diego!, Chicago . 72. 74 73 77—29G Jack Burke. St Paul . ' 77 7:5' 72 72—296 Jock Hutchinson, Chico 60 7G 74 77—296 Coininenting 011 the game in the same paper, Harry Vardon said;—’ 1 Ted Bay ‘has won Ihc open golf championship of the United States. A man who has the reputation of brilliance rather than _ steadiness won tho victory 011 steadiness. Theone player who threatened Ray to the last stroke was Lg'o Dicgcl, born and bred in the United States, and a fine golfer in every sense. Jock Hutchison needed a 3'at the eighteenth hole to tie the score at 295. but lie failed aud his score was 29G, the same, as the scores of Jack Burke, one of the unsung who came very near to victory ; Dicgcl ami myself. . ' “Ray is happy. Ho had his mind set 011 winning this tourney, bub he admits that ho was lucky t 0 win. t have never seen a liner field of golfers iu .any tourney, and it took more than ability to make the strokes to win it. The strain was great, the -greater because of ihc largo number who were making fine scores. There were many who could not quite stand up wilder it, but it must be said that Leo Diegol has much courage;' He was told at the fourleciitii hole that Ray had made 29G, bub still las went 011 in all soundness and did not appear to become in the least way nervous, “1 have thought at times that Ray was a nervous golfer. 1 have thought that lie had tho tendency (0 ovorauxictv. ■ tint now I know thn.t ho has courage and self-assurance as much as* au.y of them. He played lus strokes for the. best when ho needed the host, ami bis sgore of 75 for tho afternoon round does not mean quite so much when it is considered coldly. He feels that it is not a score to be very proud of. He tolls of two breaks iu the afternoon round that might bare Ijeeu heart breaks for a less sturdy inau. ' “At the eighth amf ninth holes he played his shots well to the pin, tho one at tho eighth being within a yard. He putted quickly and missed. Then at tho ninth after he bad driven well clown the centre-of tho fairway, ho sliced into a lie several yards from the green and approached, to within two feet of the green with a. deadly accurate shot. He missed his putt, the.ball sliding around tho lip of the cup. Ho was out iu 35 and should have been out in 33. “Coming in, he first struck trouble at tho hole where he had difficulty all through this tourney. That yus tho sixth. He has got a (ivo there four times in succession and every time ho made up the deficit of one stroke by boiling out a 3 for flic par 4 seventh. “His one. brilliant shot of the day was at ■ tho fourth hole in the dller-

noon, whore ha, ran down a putt at forty fast for a birdie 8. * . '‘Thera j 8 nothing that Iwould have hked better than to hare returned home trom America. from my last visit with your open .championship title. It was •not‘to. be,- although there, was a time m the play to-day that I thought it not improbable. My morning score was 71. and that placed me a. stroke ahead of/ the field. Hutchison and Hiegel following 'immediately '. with total':scores of , 219 and Ray. with ’the ' thiid lowest,