THE ROYAL AND ANTIENT GAME OF GOLF

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18014, 26 November 1926, Page 10

THE ROYAL AND ANTIENT GAME OF GOLF

J. Goss was at his best when he defeated J. M. Hussey in the final of the Belmont championship at Wanganui by 4up and 3to play iast week. Hussey had reached the final for the third year in succession. In 1924 he was just beaten by F. Parks, ar.d last year Imlay Saunders beat him by 4 and 3. a Great Britain may have been the cradle of golf, but the announcement from London recently that the first women’s golf professional of that kingdom has just come forth to teach golf to feminine aspirants has shown that the Mother Country was behind in that phase of golf, for the United States has had women golf professionals for several years. Four of them are listed with male instructors. Chicago has two women golf professionals in Mrs Harry Healey, of the Lincoln Park Golf Club, and Mrs Bob Macdonald, who aids her husband, who is known as one of the longest drivers in the world. The absence of Miss Joyce Wethcred and Miss Cecil Leitch from the English ladies’ golf championships has created considerable comment in England. Discussing the question, the golf correspondent of the ‘‘Observer’ said: ‘‘When Miss Wethered won the English championship five years in succession, and the British open championship three times out of four, she probably felt that she had done enough. She arrived at the stage in her career when the championship was as good as hers for the asking. All this was very dull and uninteresting, not only to herself, but to the rank and file of players, who saw no means of escape from their state of bondage. So, for two years Miss Wethered has played golf in private and for her own amusement, and has thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Having regained the title of British champion. Miss Cecil Leitch, no doubt, thinks that additional prestige is not to be obtained by annexing the English championship. Miss Leitch is probably right in her deduction. Not content to allow Walter Hagen the honour of world’s match play champion because he defeated Abe Mitchell, George Duucan has formally challenged the American to a 72-holes match for £SOO a-side. Duncan is willing to go to the United States to meet Hagen, as the American is not likely to travel to England. It is stated that Duncan has waived every possible condition, allowing Hagen to nominate the course and the dates. Up to the present Hagen has not seen his way c lear to accept the challenge. As he is at present out of favour with the American public, he perhaps thinks it wiser not to risk another blow to liis prestige.

Speaking of Duncan, the golf correspondent of the “Observer” states that most people think Duncan is quite

unnecessarily putting his head into a noose in making the challenge. He has not been playing well for some time, and his chances of defeating Hagen on ground selected by himself arc by no means bright. On reflection Duncan has come to the conclusion that his putting is not what it should be. This has been perfectly obvious to the onlooker for the last few years, and the wonder is that Duncan has not discovered it long ago. However, he has fashioned a new’ type of weapon—a putter with an unusually deep face, something after a mashie-iron but without the loft. Te idea is to roll the ball up to the hole rather than to make it leap os if one were playing a pitch-and-run shot with a jigger, always a pronounced characteristic of Duncan’s putting. RECORD FOR SANDY LODGE. Abe Mitchell gave a display of wonderful golf at the Sandy 1/odgc course. Northwood, when he lowered a record which has stood since 1912. when Harry Vardon went round in 72. Mitchell took only 70. Even this great achievement might have been surpaF 1 -' ed but for two putting errors on the homeward hall. Mitchell went out in 31, an unheard of score on this difficult course. Even in doing this he had only one Ion*: putt to help him. The rest of his golf was perfection. But he was more human coming home. He had an unfortunate lie from a slightly pulled tee shot to the tenth, where he found a rabbit’s scrape in a bunker, but he get a four here, and all went well until, the fifteenth, another short hole, where he again dropped a stroke, on this occasion missing a putt. At the long seventeenth he was in sand for the second time, but he made such a good recovery that he still liad a good chance of a five, but again missed a short putt. However, he was sate to beat the record, and did so with 39 for the homeward half. Mitchell’s card read:—Out4. 4, 3. 4, 4. 4,3, 2. 3—31. In: 4,5, 4. 4. 5, i. 4. G. 3—36 Total. 70. Mitchell played with Aubrey Boon<r.r, the famous St'Cloud professional, Richardson, the home professional, and Harry Vardon. Boomer at one time had a good chance of equalling i r breaking the record, but, like Mitchell. took 39 to come in. and finished in 74. mainly due to a seven at the seventeenth. where he drove out of bounds. Richardson had a score of 77, and Vardon, who had the mortification of watching his record so utterly destroyed, was further distressed by playing some of the worst golf of his life. He started by taking no fewer than seven putts during the first two holes, and at most other greens going out he required three to hole out. He took 46 for the first nine, and his misfortunes were added to by a lost ball at the fourteenth, which hole cost him 'seven. A second nine of 41, and his total was 87.