1938-07-19 — Page 19

THE CHINA MAIL, JULY 19, 1988.

SIX TIE FOR LEAD IN BRITISH OPEN

PRONOUNCED

SCOTTISH NOTE

AT THE TOP

Bruen Plays Magnificent Golf

VETERAN BRAID IN GREAT FORM

(By Air Mail)

Sandwich, July 6. THE situation at the close of the first round of the Open Golf Championship on the Royal St. George's course here to-night presents a score pic- ture probably without any parallel at this stage. With six competitors tieing for leadership at 70, another bunch as close as one stroke behind, and no fewer than 20 with cards of 72 and better, it is cer- tainly no misnomer to call it the "Open" Champion- ship.

INDEED, IT IS TO AN EXTRAORDINARY EXTENT ANY- BODY'S TITLE. HISTORY HAS GIVEN US AMPLE JUSTIFICA- TION IN THIS GREAT FIGURE HUNT FOR NUMBERING THE POSSIBLES WITHOUT USING-ALL TEN FINGERS, BUT THIS TIME THE PRESENT SIGNS RATHER POINT TO`A JACK-IN- THE-BOX WINNER. STILL, THERE ARE THREE ROUNDS TO GO. AND FATE WILL. I HAVE NO DOUBT, BRING THE DRA-| (L MATIC SIFTER INTO PLAY.

Two Anglo-Scots, James Adams and John Fallon, the qualify- fying leader, have places in the leading group, and with them are Ernest Whitcombe, the oldest of the three famous brothers: W. J. Cox, who is also a Ryder Cup player; Marcel Dallemagne,. the tall Frenchman with the build of a boxer, who has recently won the title "of his own country for the third time, and the marvel of the Cham- pionship, James Bruen, the 18-year-old amateur prodigy from the South of Ireland. Number apart, it is a remarkable international company.

One stroke behind them are, among others, Alf Perry, nomin- ated by two major successes al- ready this year as one of the strongest candidates, other two Whitcombes,. Reg and Charles;

-and-among those who completed that dazzled the eye, and the com- the course in 72 are Jack M'Lean petitors who had the early times were and T. B. Haliburton. The Scot certainly in lack. tish note is more than usually pronounced.

COTTON'S UNIMPRESSIVE ROUND Bobby Locke, South Africa's young wonder, should have been among the competitors who averaged 4s, but he missed a five feet putt on the home green, and with, among others, Dai Rees, the brilliant Surbiton assistant, stands at 78.

Henry Cotton, the champion, whose form this season has put a larger) element of guesswork into his de- fence prospects than we expected. had an unimpressive round, of which by a long way the best part was his salvage work, especially near the fin- Ish, that left him. no worse than 74. There he is still with 54 holes to of play, well within striking range the leaders, vente am

Adams. was well round the course

when the wind sprang up, and sud- dently put an extra bit of difficulty into the sums. Perry, who did 71 Haliburton, who did 72, made good use of this dispensation, and Braid, only hero of a hundred fights, and member of the old guard to qualify, despite his, 68 years, was actually level 4s when he went to the eighteenth tee for the last drive of a wonderful round.

Mrs. Helen Wills Moody, who won the Ladies Singles title for the eighth time at Wimbledon, recently, is seen completing a forehand drive in her match against Miss Helen Jacobs, who was beaten 6-4, 6-0. (Copyright-Fox).

EXCLUSION RULE AND ITS POSSIBILITIES

With thirty-nine players at 74 and better, the new exclusion order - that rules out all ties for the 10th place has unprecedented possibili tice. At the close of yesterday's play Cotton and Padgham among those on the outside mark

were

the

rect up to the fourteenth, where he did not quite get up in two but had his b

5. Any sort of mistake and-ba were complete strangers up to that stage, but there was one momentary break at the next hole where he drove into a bunker, put his ball from there. into knee-deep rough, and managed only after a real saver of a chip to take the hole in the teeth of the wind in a 5. Resuming the as-you-were, however, he finished with rock-like steadiness by doing the next three holes in eleven strokes.

There were already a good many spectators about the course and enough Braid, with his bag of nine clubs,

of them with Adams to raise a round But three woods, five irons, and a putter, miniscent of his bid for the 1986 Open of applause when he holed out. made a modest show alongside the Championship at Hoylake when his the procession continued in low figurés.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY moderns, but he still knows how to long putt to the tie hit the back of the make the nine do the work of the hole a smack and stayed out. Nothing

Tom Haliburton, the 22 years old St multiple-stocked kits we see in the reminded me more of that than present-day championships.

firm tone of his putter play to-day. Nicholas player, should have been lo- "DEVINE FURY" LACKING His coverage of the first nine holes in wer than his 72; for he was first man The spirit is willing and the skill is 83 kept pace with par, and it was done to strike off and had the maximum of

(Continued on Page 20) still there, and only the flesh is not with a confident ease. All was cor- WEATHER PART AUTHOR what it used to be. The veteran, stoopéd To-day's situation undoubtedly has a little In the shoulders, started off the weather for part author. The with three figures that seemed to roll tension which is inevitable when every the years away, 4 4 4. It was like stroke counts no doubt also had its old times, even if behind the figures Influence, with Intervals of intensive the "divine fury" of other days war rain and a varying wind in keeping lacking. There was only one bad halt anybody from breaking 70. All on the outward half, where he drove through more than six hours, play into the Maiden bunker at the fifth, that total stood undisturbed on, the and just struggled the ball back to score-board, and if the players at the play again and took a

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It was James Adams, Ayrshire Scot and successor to the late Jack More ris at Hoylake, who touched in the first putt of the day for 70, and 70 even in the still morning" "Kirke was a first-rate tar To a man setting ywhen the out-in-the Open on the strokes begin to mean everything, was the sort of score to make a lovely morning look evennbetter, ove

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