Photo by Pietzcker, St. Louis WALTER HAGEN. Who won the Open Championship at Midlothian with a score of 290

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1 Photo by Pietzcker, St. Louis WALTER HAGEN Who won the Open Championship at Midlothian with a score of 290

THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP By MAX H. BEHR THE qualifying rounds of this year's Open Championship held over the Midlothian course were played under the most trying conditions.

2 THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP By MAX H. BEHR THE qualifying rounds of this year's Open Championship held over the Midlothian course were played under the most trying conditions. The heat was fully equal to that which prevailed two years ago at Wheaton during the Amateur Championship and which proved so disastrous to Harold Hilton, then defending his title as champion, won the year previous at Apawamis and Norman Hunter, the other English entrant. Heat on the plains of Illinois, with its monotonous landscape, is quite a different thing from heat in a country where the sight of hills at least serve as some relief from the weight of the heavens above. However the burnt condition of the fairgreen in a way compensated for the heat, the course being made two to three strokes easier thereby. As an instance the thirteenth hole, 520 yards in length, and even the seventh, 538 yards, were being reached with a drive and a cleek, which gives some indication of the long roll it was possible to secure from a well-hit shot. Taking the condition of the ground, the par during the tournament was in reality 71, if not 70, as the last hole, 2 yards, was being reached regularly by the longer players from the tee. Hagen had a 3 on this hole in every round. And it was not, on the whole, a difficult par at that, for Midlothian, from the standpoint of golf architecture, belongs to the dark ages of the science. So far as punishment from misplayed shots, it was simplicity itself. There are no carries that deserve the name and the greens keep "open house." Low scoring was therefore to be expected. It is interesting to note that the one who played the best seventy-two holes of the entire tournament was not the eventual winner. It was Tom Macnamara who won first position in the qualifying rounds with a score of 145 and whose first thirty-six holes in the tournament itself totaled 143, making a grand total of 288 for seventy-two holes. This is an average of fours and an achievement that has been equaled but few times in the past. Macdonald Smith upon the shorter Scarsdale course, in the first week of August, made the phenomenal total of 2 when he won the Metropolitan open and it must be said, considering the difference in length of the courses, these two scores compare very well. It was not to be expected, however, that Macnamara could continue in this high form. He had come into his stride too quickly. The possibility is not given every winner to pace the field two-thirds of the way and then have enough speed left to withstand the onrush from behind. And that was the unfortunate position in which Macnamara stood with thirty-six holes to play. Golf is indeed a peculiar game in the respect that one cannot set oneself a certain standard with the object of saving oneself for the supreme occasion and in medal play this is doubly difficult. One has often heard Mr. Jerome Travers's method of playing down to an opponent decried as full of great danger, but on the whole there is great virtue in it. Such a method is only possible to a player with indomitable courage and an exact knowledge of his limitations. He looks upon a match in a tournament not as something separate and apart, but as a stepping-stone to the eventual scaling of the heights and consequently with the true genius of a match player he attempts to rise with as little effort as possible, conserving his strength for the eventual struggle. It is hard to say whether there is purpose in his madness or whether it is the outcome of a nature that needs the close proximity of danger to prod it into activity. Whatever it may be, his method shows that full knowledge of restraint which belongs only to true genius. And thus it is to be noted that without perhaps the least forethought on their part, the two who finally came to occupy the two leading positions were considerably in the background in the qualifying 33

THE WINNING PUTT This photograph shows Hagen actually holing his last putt and 290th stroke on the eighteenth green. undoubtedly have tied with him Had he missed Mr. Evans would rounds. Walter C.

3 THE WINNING PUTT This photograph shows Hagen actually holing his last putt and 290th stroke on the eighteenth green. undoubtedly have tied with him Had he missed Mr. Evans would rounds. Walter C. Hagen, the new champion, occupied seventeenth place and Mr. Charles Evans, Jr., fifty-eight place. The names of the sixty-four to qualify with their scores are as follows: Tom McNamara, Boston James Barnes, Whitemarsh Valley... McDonald Smith, Oakmont Francis Ouimet (Am.), Woodland.... R. M. Thompson, Glen Ridge Tom Anderson, Montclair Alex Ross, Brae Burn M. J. Brady, Wollaston George Sargent, Chevy Chase Johnnie Gatherum, Ridgemoor William Kidd, Algonquin Tom Vardon, Onwentsia R. C. MacDonald, Buffalo Bob Peebles, Topeka H. G. Lagerblade, Youngstown Otto Hackbarth, Hinsdale James A. Donaldson, Glen View Donald Edwards (Am.), Midlothian. L. M. Nelson, Highland Fred McLeod, Columbia Walter G. Hagen, Rochester K. P. Edwards (Am.), Midlothian... Louis Tellier, Canoe Brook C. H. Hoffner, Atlantic City Dan Kennedy, Hamilton W. J. Bell, Toronto Dave McKay, Belleview James Simpson, Chicago J. C. Green, Hot Springs Jack Burke, Thunder Bay Walter G. Fovargue, Skokie J. H. Taylor, Canton J. C. Hackbarth, Midlothian Louis Berrin, Salt Lake J. W. Monroe, Burke L. Jacoby (Am.), Dallas Jack Neville (Am.), San Francisco... J. J. McDermott, Atlantic City Jack Hutchinson, Allegheny Joe Mitchell, Upper Montclair J. R. Thomson, Philadelphia Warren K. Wood (Am.), Flossmoor... W. Rautenbush, Garfield Park 34

Frank Adams, French Lick C. W. Hall, Birmingham Willie Maguire, Houston Jack Jolly, Newark.... C. R. Murray, Montreal J. J. O'Brien, Westbrook.. Tom Kerrigan, Dedham Jack Dowling, Scarsdale A. G.

4 Frank Adams, French Lick C. W. Hall, Birmingham Willie Maguire, Houston Jack Jolly, Newark.... C. R. Murray, Montreal J. J. O'Brien, Westbrook.. Tom Kerrigan, Dedham Jack Dowling, Scarsdale A. G. Herr, Lincoln Arthur Smith, Arlington Jack Croke, Calumet Andrew Brown, St. Joseph Andrew Campbell, Springhaven G. O. Simpson, Omaha George Cummings, Toronto William Nichols, Muskogee Alex Taylor, Ravisloe C. Evans Jr. (Am.), Edgewater.... L. M. MacDonald, Erie C. P. Nelson, Lakewood Fred Brand, Mount Lebanon G O L F 82 W. MacFarland, Suburban. With a great leap, that nearly came too soon, Hagen, with a wonderful 68 the first round, to which he added a the second, came out in front of the field. Macnamara, with 143, trailed behind one stroke and Mr. Francis Ouimet, who was third in the qualifying rounds with 148, held on to his position with 145. By his play so far he had vindicated his win last year. If he had only gone on the last day in that determined manner which characterized his play at Brookline, there might have been another story to tell. He said he was trying his hardest, but his whole manner belied a concentration that one hoped to see. Last year he seemed to be wholly unconscious of the enthusiastic galleries that followed him, but this year, with a gallery that watched him to very nearly the exclusion of all others, there seemed to be a realization of its presence that took away that quality of disinterestedness which was the crowning virtue of his whole attitude during the championship a year ago. Mr. Ouimet has shown himself to be one of those modest characters that require time to assimilate a position for which they are not naturally adapted. In his small world he was by all odds the most talked of golfer since his memorable defeat of Vardon and Ray; but he would have to have the nature of a Roosevelt to be immediately conscious of his greatness. It is enough to say that he had to relinquish his position through, more than anything else, an indifferent in the fourth round which placed him in a tie for fifth place. Only a would have been necessary to have held third place. The dark horse of the whole tournament was Mr. Charles Evans, Jr. Not dark in the sense of a reputation, for his up till now has been of a perennial disappointing order, but dark in the sense that he had enshrouded himself by only just qualifying. He was no doubt somewhat encouraged the first day by rising from the depths to eleventh position by a score of 150 encouraged at least to the extent that Mr. Francis Ouimet was not to obliterate his reputation as a medal player altogether. He could not have been aware, however, that so far, everything had gone perfectly for him until he became conscious of what was in him the last day. He must have felt in that enviable position of not having disgraced himself with the prospect of materially adding to the great position he holds in amateur golf. Then, again, there was the incentive of doing better than Mr. Ouimet, who led him by five strokes on the first day's play. There was little hope of catching Hagen. Eight strokes is an enormous lead to overcome. What he did, however, was truly phenomenal. If he could Had Mr. Evans holed this chip shot, which he placed within ten inches of the hole, he would have tied with Hagen at 290 strokes for the Open Championship 35

only have putted as one has every reason to expect a player of his caliber to putt, his two rounds of 71 and 70, the best two consecutive rounds played, would have been well down in the sixties.

Ouimet, who had made a, and within four strokes of Hagen, whose score was also a.

5 only have putted as one has every reason to expect a player of his caliber to putt, his two rounds of 71 and 70, the best two consecutive rounds played, would have been well down in the sixties. Time and again he was left with very holeable putts from the most perfect of approach shots, but all to no purpose. With his 71 the morning round of the second day he was within one stroke of Mr. Ouimet, who had made a, and within four strokes of Hagen, whose score was also a. By the ninth green in the afternoon he had passed Ouimet and would have been up with Hagen had he holed a three-foot putt. From there on it was a race. Hagen was but a few couples ahead. He had made the tenth hole in four and when Mr. Evans drove off and pulled into a trap there was the keenest of disappointment. But the traps at Midlothian amount to little. His ball lay upon hard clay from which he very nearly reached the green. He had still a sizeable chip shot to play, which he got away with fairly, and then holed one of the few good putts he made. The eleventh he halved with Hagen in four, although he gave himself a chance for a three. Bad putting cost him a stroke at the short twelfth, but he quickly made it up by a beautiful four at the long thirteenth, where Hagen had taken a five. But the next hole, a drive and a pitch, had to be done in three to hold his position. He made a bold attempt and missed by a hair's breadth. The short fifteenth was halved in three, but at the sixteenth he again lost a stroke. Two strokes behind and two holes to play was not an encouraging position to be in and yet Mr. Evans played G O L F MR. EVANS Playing his second shot from a trap at the tenth hole in his fourth round ROBERT C. WATSON One of the most efficient presidents the U. S. G. A. has ever had 36 them as only a great golfer should. Hagen had taken a five to the seventeenth, which is a full drive and a full iron to reach the green. Mr. Evans sliced into the rough, but played a splendid shot short of the green and then a rather weak chip. A ten-foot putt had to be holed. With the greatest deliberateness in the world he holed it to the immense delight and applause of the gallery. He needed a two on the 2 yard eighteenth hole to tie. He drove one of the most perfect balls imaginable, low, with a tremendous run and absolutely straight on the pin. It came to rest a foot from the green's edge. He made an excellent attempt to hole out, the ball coming to rest ten inches away. It was a great uphill fight and one which will redound to his credit for many years. Without any disparagement to the Midlothian Country Club it must be said that Midlothian is not a course, in its present condition, that would ever be picked again to hold an Open Championship upon, and it is to be sincerely hoped that in future there will be more interest taken in this great event of American professional golf, in order that the professionals may have the privilege of deciding what is to them the great question of the year, upon a course that is a real test of the game. It is true that everything possible was done to stiffen up the holes by new traps and bunkers, but the bringing of an old course, with its antiquated guttie ball hazards, up to the modern standards demanded by the livelier ball is a Herculean task not to be consummated within a short period of a summer's time. If it were possible to imagine a golf hole to be an animate being with

Hagen approaching the tenth green in his

Evans just after playing his third, a chip

ninth green in his fourth round, he would

Hagen playing a chip to the ninth green.

6 Hagen approaching the tenth green in his fourth round Mr. Evans just after playing his third, a chip shot, to the tenth green in his fourth round If Mr. Evans had holed this three-foot putt on the ninth green in his fourth round, he would have been out in 34 and all even with Hagen Hagen playing a chip to the ninth green. Ball in air Mr. Evans on the fourteenth green in his fourth round. He just missed holing his putt for a three 37

Hole Numbers.. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total Hole Distances.. 300 196 359 338 390 390 538 346 412 3269 437 382 122 520 300 490 400 2 3086 6355 Par.

7 Hole Numbers Out In Total Hole Distances Par W. C. Hagen Hole Totals C. Evans, Jr Hole Totals The Scores in detail of W. C. Hagen and Mr. Charles Evans, Jr., in the U.S. Open Championship any sense of sportsmanship, some of the holes at Midlothian would cry out for help to withstand with some dignity the onslaughts of the most indifferent golfer, leaving out of consideration the skill that only a Redan or Sahara can cope with. If Midlothian is not the test of golf it might be; the lessons of this tournament should go a great way to making it so. The chart showing the strokes taken at each hole, and the total strokes at each hole in the four rounds of both Hagen and Mr. Evans is interesting because it affords the opportunity, at a glance, of determining the strong and weak spots in their seventy-two holes. For an instance take the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh holes. Hagen needed strokes to play them in his four rounds to Mr. Evans's 64. In Mr. Evans' score we do not seem to find any succession of holes that are weak. Taken individually, however, it is a surprise to note that he could get no better than a 4 at the second hole, 196 yards, with a par of 3. The fifth and seventeenth also seemed to be especially difficult for him, for upon both he lost two strokes to par. Both the 500-yard holes however, the seventh and thirteenth, he accomplished in 2 better than par, as also the short fifteenth at which his total was but ten strokes. If anyone hole might be picked at which one might say Hagen won the championship, it would be the 2 yard eighteenth, which he made each time in 3. His 3 in the last round was the result of a splendid fourteen-foot putt. Summing up the totals we find that neither made any one of the holes in 2 under par designated by all golfers an "eagle." Hagen made 15 holes in 1 under par, 41 in par and 16 over par, while Mr. Evans made 13 holes in 1 under par, 43 in par and 16 over par. W. C. Hagen was without any doubt whatever the logical winner although there might have been another story to tell had Macdonald Smith not been laid up with a severe attack of bronchitis. His name would have been better known to American golfers were it not for the presence of Vardon and Ray in last year's Open Championship. The fact that he tied for fourth place should be remembered and further that any fair score in his last round at Brookline would have seen him champion instead of Ouimet. PRIZE WINNERS W. C. Hagen, Rochester, N. Y Charles Evans, Jr., Edgewater Fred McLeod, Columbia, D. C G. Sargent, Chevy Chase Thursday 68,,,, Francis Ouimet, Woodland, Mass... 69, J. A. Donaldson, Glen View, M. J. Brady, Wollaston, Louis Tellier, Canoe Brook., Arthur Smith, Columbus, Ohio...., J. J. McDermott, Atlantic City...., Friday, 71, 70, 71,,,,,,, Total The gallery watching Mr. Evans at the finish of his fourth round 38

THE AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

THE AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP By THE EDITOR. The seventeenth annual amateur championship of the United States Golf Association was played at the Apawamis Club, Rye, N. Y., Sept. 11 to 16. There were 1 entries,