1939-07-18 — Page 25

THE CHINA MAIL, JULY 18, 1989.

GOLF

St. Andrews Reflections The Most Famous Championship Tie; In States

QUIMET WINS PLAY-OFF AT AGE OF 19

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in

of, the chances

LAWN BOWLS

W.J. REID WINS THRILLING GAME

singles.

head.

but is specially topical this week Why do ties not turn up oftener in the St. Andrew's, July 4-Stages that day at Brookline. Bernard Dar- though a number of players usually in the First Round of the Open

Open Championships? It is odd that

Rain interfered with the games No. 1 of another Open Champion-win tells of how he slipped out of the have a chance of winning that some-Singles Lawn Bowls championship.

turmoil and began to write frantical- thing or other happens to put one ship is already complete. The ly for his paper, feeling like a war five days route march to the sen- correspondent on

on his some stricken field

the end, ior of all golf titles has begun, sending home news of the annihilation several likely competitors in the late started earlier in the

years ago at St. Andrews there were

Six but number of matches, which and by to-night we shall know of the British Army. Ouimet himself running, and Shute and Craig Wood,

afternoon, who have earned the right to he never got the kick from winning aggregate. The Quimet case offers, an were abandoned shortly after the has confessed, on the other hand, that the Americans, did finish on the same

were completed, while several enter the more material phases that Championship that he might have excellent illustration of the great struggle. The mill got if he had thought he could win it that rule these matters, I have already start of the Championship

The thought of winning never entered mentioned that to secure to tie with At Taikoo, A. E. Coates, a former, grinds

his head, and he said that he was im- Vardon and Ray the amateur had to slowly, but of various processes mune from emotions of any sort. It is knock one off par somewhere in the champion, made short work of W. tried since the entries first creat- true, of course, ed the time problem the present pect to play at all. He had used up a long putt for a 3 at the seventeenth. 22 shots to 3 on the 15th

that he did not ex- last four holes, and he did it by holing J. Burling, whom he defeated by method appears to work out sat- Amateur, but a friend had induced

his vacation to compete in the National One putt of that kind may make a tie Burling's score was isfactorily in every way, including him to send in his name for the Open. at St. Andrews this week, and I ex-

from three generally a good and acceptable Quimet was surprised and embarrassed pect that not a few long ones will go result.

when his employer said to him one

down before the week is over on the morning, "Well, I see you are now go-

finely conditioned greens. ing to play in the Open." The pairings If somebody's putt does spectacular- The time problem to which I have had been published in the Press. Ex-ly decide the issue, we shall no doubt alluded is more easily soluble than planations followed, and Quimet said have various ideas of the length of it was two all but Burling did not the crowd problem which few

he would be grateful if he could be It is one of the curiosities of golf that score again till the 14th héad. years ago began to jeopardise the a look at Vardon and Ray. His employ- can be the subject of such differences

allowed to go over to Brookline to have a thing plainly seen by many people SILVA'S FINE FINISH Old Course position in the Cham-er told him to go right into the Cham- in the estimate of length. Many of the with the score eight shots all, Meyer, On level, terms on the 10th head pionship connection; but, despite pionship.

"smoke-room yarders" may legitimate- the inherent difficulties involved at He saw quite a lot of Vardon and in a championship the chronicler at thereafter failed to score.

ly be taken with a grain of salt, but was leading at the 12th by 11-9 but St Andrews, competitors and spec-Ray before it was through. Surely, anyrate must give a conscientious eati- next five heads Silva scored two In the tators have been given a New Deal however, when he found that he was to mate of an important putt. Gauging singles, two threes and ended up by the scheme which, under Parli- he must, even in the fact of the odds as it might seem. Take the case of that with a four.

do battle against the British players the distance, however, is not so easy amentary sanction, encloses the against him, have had that dream, if Ouimet putt I have been writing about. Drawing first blood with a two,

out C. keeps certain areas of the ground haps, after all, win. The Quimet rom- and here is the amazing disparity asfour shots all at the sixth

U. M. Omar to head but after that failed to score again and lost by 21 shots to 41.

absolutely free from crowds.

The numbering of players, introduc- ed this week for the first time there, is a logical step in the wake of en- closure and gate money. Spectators will welcome the useful guidance thus given them. Mistakes are apt to be made. Even have I been asked for my autograph by as small...........boy whose zeal as a collector badly outran his discrimination.

Boy Who Beat "Britain"

ance will, at any rate, be deathless into its length given by four experts American golf. I remember the far-who saw it: ing headliness in the U.S. papers the following day that were sent to me, it was front page news, and I cannot help thinking that in those days front- page news, free from Dictator competi- tion, was infinitely more pleasant than that which we have to take with our current Open Championship.

Guessing Putt Lengths

That famous golf tie, the most fam- ous of all championship ties, suggests a query that is not by any means new,

Many of us have, no doubt, had our golf dreams, in which possibly the autograph-hunter clamoured round us, but that is a much more pleasurable, thrill than merely in the cold light HOME CRICKET of day being the quite unworthy sub- ject of an album-armed enthusiast's error. Speaking of golf dreams, I imagine that with all its tense at- mosphere, its tramping and

excited thousands, even the real thing must sometimes assume a dream-like sem-i blance for the player who is winning. Are there not moments when, with the biggest thing in a golf career about to materialise, partner, caddies, specta- tors, and course all merge

into sort of blurred, dream-like picture,

Bernard Darwin-Three yards. Ouimet himself-16 feet. Jerry Travers-20 feet... Harry Vardon-12 yards. Darwin afterwards revised his first estimate written in the heat of the mo-

In the course of the gamè Coates scored a four, two threes and three twos. At the fourth head the score

?

The closest game of the afternoon was between W. J. Reid and K. S. Robertson which was won by the former by one shot at the 26th head. ment. He felt that he had made it "too short. But leaving him out, the putt

The loser began well and at the length varies between five and twelve 11th head was leading by 13 shots

yards. The number of paces a player to 5. Reid, with, the help of a four takes to the hole after a putt is a and two guide, but the same putt seen from twó

threes, levelled the different angles often produces two scores at 17-17 on the 21st head. ideas of distance. Our Own Corres- On the 25th head the score pondent.

again equal.

The following were the results of games played yesterday:

GLOUCESTERSHIRE AGAIN SUFFER SETBACK

At K.C.C.

were

C. G. Silva beat J. G. Meyer 21-11 on the 17th head.

U. M. Omar beat V. C. Dixon, 21-4 on the 16th head.

A. R. Dallah beat P. J. Hamilton 21-8 on the 19th head.

At K.B.G.C. AW: Grimmitt beat J. Orem 22-14 on the 19th, head.

At K.F.C. R. P. Phillips beat A. Bower 21±13 on the 19th head.

4. At T.D.R.C.

223 on the 16th head.

London, To-day. Gloucestershire's championship, hopes suf- A. E. Coates beat W. J. Burling sensed rather than seen? If it is pos-ered a further setback in a county match which finished yesterday.D. W. Waterton beat F. Harper

sible, and I think it is, such a ment must be dangerous, for the player's concentration must never for an instant relax if the dream is to come fully true.

Throwing my mind back on cham- pionships, I feel that surely Francis Quimet lived one of those glowing mo-

Following their defeat by Surrey in the last block of matches, they were again beaten, this time by Kent, by margin of 96 runs.

Scores at a glance;

ments when he tied with Vardon and Scoring throughout was low. were held to a draw in a match Kay in the historic Open Champion Kent made 182 in their first innings greatly interrupted by rain, Dur. ship in America in 1918. All the cir- to which Fagg, a new selection for ham made 101 and 42 for 3, whilst cumstances of that event, which, in Test honours against West Indies West Indies scored 208 in their view of its influence upon the game on Saturday, made 77. Scott was only innings. over the whole American continent, deserves to be described as epoch-mak always difficult to score off and his ing, compel me to think that it fits the analysis was 5 for 86. dream theory. Quimet was only 19; the thought of winning never entered

Gloucestershire, despite the com- his head when he entered. He did the paratively low total facing them, last four holes in one under par to tie, could only manage 170 and after and then, a mere bay alongside the Kent, thanks to Ames's 79, had famous British-professionals, he fafre ly and squarely beat them in the made 189 in their second venture, dramatic three-ball play-off. The play-Gloucestershire were put out for off figures, I may recall, were: 100, Test bowler Wright taking Quimet, -72; Vardon, 77; Ray

No Emotion Whatever

No golf course crowd has ever come nearer, to madness fram usiasm than

Lancy 11, th

for-20,

WEST INDIES DRAW

two-day match with Dur ham, a minor county, West Indies

At Maidstone, Kent beat Gloucester- shire by 98 runs.

Kent-182 (Fagg 77; Scott B for 88)

and 189 (Ames 79). Gloucestershire 170 and 108 (Wright-

6 for 20).

At Sunderland, Durham drew West Indiem:: MAR |Durkkm=101 and 4241ər

West Indies

21-5 on the 14th head.

W. J. Reld beat K. S. Robertson by. 2120 on the 26th head.

The following games were started but not completed owing to the rain.

FX. M. Silva was leading J, C. Remedios 86, on the 9th head.

F. P. Anslow and A. R. Minu tied 9--9 at the 10th head.

M. R. Abbas and R. S. Meadows tied 36 on the 9th head.

TO-DAY'S MATCHES

Weather permitting, the following the Open Singles Lawn Bowls Tourna first-round matches will be played in

Cullen v. TICE. Robson, ment this afternoon:

At Kowloon F.C. Minu v. N. A. F. Mackay; C. H. Ba

Kowloon C.C

#WV Field;

BGC FPV Ribeiro.