1939-07-21 — Page 31

THE CHINA MAIL, JULY 21, 1989.

Cotton Skilled Golfer

By. BEST BALL

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It is quite possible that British golfers take a less serious view of the game than, Americans on the whole. Certainly they have great number of pros who travel around, indulging in tournaments throughout the year for the simple reason that golf to them is limited by weather, conditions. The player on this side, who wishes to make a living from the prizes offered, must live, breathe and literally eat golf. The competition is so fierce that only the highly skilled performer by U. S. comparisons can make a livelihood out of it. This means that in between the rounds of ac- tual money matches, the golfer

must practice and keep on prac ticing. Naturally this application to the game the year around makes the golfer really adept and leading tournament winners tops or they wouldn't be in the lead.

the

are

However, England has had her share of good performers, capable on the whole of holding their own with golfers anywhere. For some years past, Henry Cotton has been one of the best players in the world. He won the British Open in 1934 and again in 1937. He has achieved this form by applying the American principle of constant practice to his own game, perfect- ing his form by the same methods golfers here have found so prác- tical. Likely the germ of this am-

GRAPHIC GOLF

FINISH OF HENRY COTTON'S

SWING SIMILAR: TO THAT OF TOMMY

ARMOUR. BELOW

COTTON ONCE A PUPIL

• OF ARMOUR'S

2.20

bition was planted some years ago when Cotton made a tour of this country, observing players here and smoothing out his swing un- der the eye of Tommy Armour,

Compare the illustrations above of both Cotton and, Armour and one cannot help but notice the similarity in the finish of the two strokes. On that trip Cotton did

OPEN GOLF

(Continued from Page 22) golfers do.

Accepting a proposition to go to his father-in-law's farm Surrey, he is now a whole-hearted in agriculturist, gets up at 5 a.m. and takes a hand in the hay-making and all the other jobs.. But his golf, which he plays regularly still at his father's course, has not suffered. In his 70, he putted his way round, five holes of the Loop in 88:

That constellation, however, had to pale a little before the six 8s. done by Whitcombe, beginning at the eighth hole. The title-holder finished in 71. There are immense possibilities in the Loop holes, where Jock Hutchison, in the 1921 Open, did the eighth hole in 1 and the ninth in 2.

The title-holder to-day played im- pressive golf, but the worse the wea- ther, the better Whitcombe seems to play. From a puddle on the cross- road at the eighteenth he played the soundest of recoveries, put the ball on the green, and got his 4. Whitcombe's score is all the more praiseworthy for he greatly dislikes thunder, which he says dazes him, and he had to play through the storm to-day.

Alf Perry's 71 contained two excep- tional 4s. one at the fourteenth,

little to show that he was destined to become one of the golfing greats. Now he is contemplating another American tour and if reports of his game are correct, English golf may reach a higher peak than at any time since Harry Vardon.

Monday-Hitting Power.