THE CHINA MAIL, JULY 20, 1939.
OPEN GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP-2ND DAY
James Bruen Leads Field With Two 69s
Cotton And Little Follow Four Strokes Behind
F
QUALIFYING DEAD-LINE, 156
St. Andrews, July 4. perfect flurry of excitement over the With a wizardry that held Bruen, brilliance. It was after 7 p.m. when he holed out, but though the 3000 spectators spell-bound, draw, reversed from yesterday's order, James Bruen, the amazing 19- sent him out last on the New Course, years-old Irish phenomenon, com- play was so unduly prolonged, what of his pleted the New Course here this with the deliberate methods
partner, J. Pressley, and the delay due evening in 69 strokes, and now to the big crowd, which had to move heads the qualifying list of 129 and settle and move and settle again. competitors in the Open Golf As a matter of fact, players finished Championship,
up with the course to themselves, and including the
four holes behind the pair drawn in crack professionals of this and front of them. The white-coated ste- other countries, with the remark-wards made things as easy as possible, able aggregate of 138.
and without their marshalling the fin- ish would have been later still. crowd, however, was a knowledgeable one, as crowds at St. Andrews gener- ally are, but some delay was inevitable under the circumstances.
Not only did he break the Old Course record yesterday with a 69, but he had the New Course record set up in the first round by Percy Alliss completely at his mercy
to- night when he hit a prodigious drive of about 30 yards to the eighteenth hole, leaving himself only a simple pitch with a No. 7. Anywhere on the green would probably have secured him the extraordinary duality in records, for these famous links, but he hooked the pitch, chip- ped about two yards beyond the flag, and then missed the putt,
The
"The exhibition given by this Irish wonder youth was one thrill after another-glorious long driv ing, chips and putts of the best possible class, and through it all the coolest person present was- Bruen.
ex-
The more one sees of him the more the wonder grows. In all my never seen a young golfer gifted with perience of big golf events. I have
the calm and confidence of Bruen. Without a vestige of flurry, with an easy business-like air that successfully
W. LAWSON LITTLE
the large crowd by holing a long putt from the edge of the green.
a
woods for some of them to-day, but Cotton, after a grandly steered drive, decided to take no-risks with the Hell bunker, a long carry to-day, and play- ed away to the left. That paved the way to the par 5.
1
The Road hole. brought his big spectacular stroke of the round, but it was a gamble, and for split second we wondered whether it was to finish on the road. It. was a second of some 230 yards from the left, for he made no at- tempt to go for the sheds from the tee, and he banged the ball right at the wisp of cloth that fluttered at the stick-top on that green of many tragedies.
The crowd held their breath as the ball hit the slope in front of the flag hard and kicked off to the left, Had it gone to the right he would have been on the road. Lucky it was, but . perhaps the brave deserve the luck. It reminded me of George Duncan's fam- ous stroke that actually hit the top of the bunker and went dead, what Duncan called "the luckiest shot of his life."
THE OVERSEAS PLAYERS
Of Little, Locke, and Bulla, the overseas contenders, little need be said, since they all made good, and never looked like doing anything else. Little scored a sound 73 on the New, and but for missing five putts of four
the heather on fire since he came here, or five feet, he would have led the field. Bobby Locke has not so far set but the time for this real golf burning begins to-morrow morning.
Written against the clock and with disguised his concentration, he hitpressive golf was eclipsed by the Irish played, and obviously taking great
stroke after stroke that would fit into even the Ryder Cup contest any time.
REMARKABLE SHORT GAME
Everything that went before in day in which the leaders all played im- boy's performance. But Cotton and Lawson. Little did all that was neces- sary at this stage and with plenty to spare for the outside qualifying aggre- Now the qualifying Cards go entirely into the discard, with Cotton and Little sharing the new qualifying prize of $20, for which, of course, amateurs are not eligible.
Press quarters buzzing with activity, writes our correspondent, these linea perhaps rather baldly suggest an anti- climax, but though the brilliant young- ster faltered momentarily with this
gate was 156. His driving length was on first-class exclusive honour within his grasp, his professional standard, and he used only golf has placed him as many as four irons for his seconds during the round. strokes in front of Henry Cotton, the The weather was in his favour, for the No. 1 favourite for the Championship, wind which had been troubling earlier and Lawson Little, the strongest of campaigners fell away towards even- the * challengers from the Uniteding, and there was a dull light under a States. Percy Alliss and John Bulla, heavy sky which threatened a deluge, Chicago, come up to fourth place with which, fortunately, did not come. 143, Reg Whitcombe, the title holder, is one stroke behind that total, and Jack M'Lean, ex-Scottish Amateur Champion, and Martin Pose, the spear- head of the Argentine team,two! strokes behind at 145.
The counting stages of the Cham- pionship now begin, with one round on Wednesday, one on Thursday, and the final 36 holes on Friday, when only 44 or fewer will qualify.
There was one hole, the long twelfth of 500 yards, where he would have taken wood for
his second, but he said afterwards
narrow
Cotton, who did the Old Course in crowd's man this morning. After his 69 to-day, was again supremely the rather wild finish on the New Course yesterday hundreds of spectators saw the master back to the straight and on the Old Course to-day. They were a thrilled pack in the wake of his raking drives, pitches that hit the greens and stopped like a
well- drilled recruit at the word of the ser- geant-major, and putts that went right for the holes. Let us begin by set- ting out his route in the figures:
Out---3 4 4 4 4 3 43 4-33
:
that he did not care to risk it from n nasty hanging lie. He got the par 5 there, but, even so, he was still three under 4s. Turning on again immediately his phenomenal short game, which had time after time electrified the crowd, CAN BRUEN KEEP IT GOING?
he ticked off the next two holes in 3 apiece, and so was presented with the
In-3 3 4 5 5 4 4 4 436-69 Bruen's figure stringing uses up a great chance to set up record. Though
Down went a four yards putt on the lot of superlatives, and they are not he looked like slipping a stroke at the first green to break par, and the crowd misused, for as his scoring perform-short thirteenth, he holed a five yards sensed on the instant that there was ances in the past two years have putt for the par, and at the fourteenth to be "something doing," and there shown, he is something rare in the hole of about 400 yards-he-ran was
With twelve holes behind him game. It may be that he has sparkled down a putt from the edge of the and safely entered among the statis
tics Cotton was five under 48, there was every
and prospect that the new record would be displaced.
For those twelve holes. Cottons generally showed all his expert com- mand of the ball, save for one
Two under 4s with thirteen holes care with his putts, Locke might have touched 70, but with two more holes his average dropped back to 48. On the fifteenth green he missed a short putt. His drive to the hugged the shed rather closely, and seventeenth gave him an awkward in grass near the wall, but he the thick magnificent stroke out, and got his 5. At the eighteenth, from the Valley of mashie-niblick two feet from the hole. Sin, he hit a very good pitch with a with these danger signals from
Bulla had a 71 on the Old Course, the sixth hole included-3 3 3 5 3 3, at which stage he was four under 4s. left with a ten-feet putt to tie Cotton and Little, who then led the After giving something away, he was
field, but he did not get it down. though he was one of the subjects of
Reg. Whitcombo finished well a striking contrast to-day. Cotton and he coinelded on the big double green, on which Cotton was playing the fif- teenth hole, and it was noticeable that spectators compared with the throng following Cotton the title holder had a mere handful of
with
up,
The position of Jack M'Lean near the top of the list is the result of the steady kind of golf which used to dub him "72 M'Lean."
HECTOR THOMSON'S
RECOVERY
Hector Thomson made a notable.re- ex- covery on the Old Course after yes-
too soon in the Championship; that, I green.
At this stage this youth, who has think, would be the danger in the case of the majority of challengers but it become a world topic in golf, actually does not, I am convinced, rm for stood five under 4s, but he did not suc- Bruen. There is more brilliance where ceed in squeezing out of fate that one that of these two days ties come from, stroke that would have given him a and the only qualification attached to 08. He had a 5 at the sixteenth, where traordinarily bad stroke at the second terday's 78, for he just missed a two it is the doubt whether he can stick it his short game was not so enterpris-hole and one or two overplayed strokes-yards putt to equal the record of 69. when the pressure comes on, It is a ing, and I have already indicated how, down the supremely big task for one who is little with the opportunity made for him at had to chip back to the sixth green, through all right, although a hook wind. For example, he Hastings, a Scottish ex-champion, got the eighteenth, he failed to turn it to and he hit his tee stroke right through from the second tee on the Old Course, account. But who is going to whisper the tenth, 814 yards away. The bad close to the wall cost him 7. anything that might even savour of stroke at the second might have been criticism or complaint of his wonder-photographed as ful 697
handicap man's head-lift. He got the chip heavily, The details of his card this after and knocked it only some fifteen yards. But as the card above shows he got his The putter did the talking there. Indeed, he had only one putt on four of the first half-dozen greens,
more than a boy.
At Hoylake before his `other Championship he was breaking 70- in round after round. and in Walker Cup trial play and practice last year he did eight rounds, any four of which would have won any championship yet played on the Old Course.
.noon, are:--..
Out-4 3 4 3 8 4 4 4 4 33.
par.
a
SPECTACULAR SECOND TO ROAD HOLE
Tom Halliburton Cotton's assistant, and W. Laidlaw, who formerly occu- pied that post, failed to qualify. Halli- burton had a 10 at the fourteenth hole, where he was twice over the wall, and he finished in 80. Laidlaw had an ex- traordinary approach to the eighteenth green on the Old Course. Hems- Judged it so badly that the ball, car- ried right over into the road behind the caddie-master's box.
Before Bruen` went out this after-
In 4 3 5 8 8 4 5 4 586=69 noon he felt that he could break 70 Here is a snapshot of the round. again and keep his position at the top off the line at the first hole, he re- of the field. His mental attitude to covered well and got the par figure, the whole thing is in itself priceless, and at the next hole started his superb and is something neither the oldest in sequence of pitches and putts. He
The fourteenth hole has become a habitant of this golf centre or the pitched up there beautifully, and at That is the big double green with the burton's escapade.. D. F. Storey had The spell broke at the thirteenth terror hole. I have mentioned Halli- club's oldest member has ever seen ex- the third hole he put a short approach fifth, the parish-sized putting surface a worse one, for he drove three balls celled. If he can keep his form for the from, about 25 yards stone dead. A that takes a man hours and hours to over the wall and had a 12.. next three days it is difficult to ims-seven yards putt went down at the cut, and hitting his second well to Jurazio, the Argentinian who Tost gine him beaten. Seba KORA fourth, and from being ort at The the left Cotton left himself with one the par championship at Carnoustie As he stepped out of the cheering fifth be played a perfect little approach of its outsizes in putts. It must have in tragic fashion, failed to quality to- crowd to-night with his 69 on the card to within six inches of the hole So been thirty yards, and, just as he day, after his Bd. yesterday," "despite I could not help remembering what he went ons Cotton said at Hoylake I Brud
Ah 8 iron to play it. He finished short, l'at th
had done at the fifth, he took a No. two seven yards putte for a 28 and 2 keep his head he will win the
hth, and ninth holes in His: When the figures were hoisted
John Baillieu, giant public score, board there
amateur, who 17IS more cheering
STROKES OERYVER CUR
The day, I have
meet a cut approach
putt of three yards. He second to the long eighth
ed another savon yards putt at
and though he tried hard to get the next one down, he took a 6ela ko
The rest of his round was right ou loventh, and one of five yards at of the book. The long fourtee
after a spared - drive, | against the hard wind, that xtile at the fourteenth he thrilled fell in fitful shifts had b
turned