1939-08-24 — Page 24

THE CHINA MAIL, AUGUST 24, 1939.

GOLF

LOCKE GONE

SHOULD

TO

Unwise At 21 To Settle Down As Club Professional

EFFECT OF

OF THE AMERICAN BALL

LONDON, AUGUST 13.—A. D. Locke, the South Afri- can professional golfer, is soon to sail home where, for the first time in his life, he will be attached to a club of his own, writes Henry Longhurst. His visit may not have brought him all he wished, but it has not been unsuccessful.

The Professional Golfers' Association, though one does not often think of it in this light, is a body with strong Trade Union principles, and it does not admit into its ranks Empire golfers who have not served five years as profes- sionals. Hence only two tournaments were open to Locke during his stay here. One was the Open championship and the other the so-called Irish Open.

The latter, strangely, is open to members of the P.G.A., amateurs of a specified standard of ability, and, as it seems, Empire professionals who are not members of the P.G.A. At any rate Jack McLean, who turned professional before Locke but has not yet served his five-year sentence, is excluded.

proved calibre. He has to find his victims for himself and bait them into

TRIAL MATCHES

Locke, at any rate, failed

to win either of these events: In the Open he finished six strokes behind the win- ner, but two strokes ahead of Cotton, with whom it was his ambition to play a challange match. On the other hand, in direct match play he has cov- ered himself with glory and has beaten in no uncertain fashion the two reign- ing champions, Reginald Whitcombe and Richard Burton.

What of his future? The point has been put to me that he is unwise, at the age of 21, to settle down to a re- gular post as professional to a club, even at a salary reported at sums varying between one and two thou- sand pounds per year. Should he not have struck while the iron is hot and have gone straight to the United States

for the winter tournaments?

FINE REPUTATION

acceptance.

The suggestion has been attributed to Cotton, already elected captain of the Ryder Cup team, that trial mat- ches should be held before the team is chosen. A year ago I was of the opinion that all forms of trial match were completely useless. The Walker Cup trials, and their happy outrome at St. Andrews, have convinced me that I was wrong. When you have chosen half a dozen of this year's Ryder Cup team there are very little grounds for selecting anyone else.

ROWING