Evening Star Newspaper, June 17, 1931, Page 30

C—2 =* RYDER CUP TEAM HERETOPLAYLS, Say Smaller, Heavier Pellet Needed to Combat Wind on English Links. BY HERBERT W. BARKER, Associated Press Sports Wilter. EW YORK, June 17 (®.— Members of the British Ryder Cup golf team don’t think much of the bigger and lighter American ball, but they hope for the best when they meet this country’s leading pro- fessionals in the cup matches at Columbus, Ohio, June 26 and 27. The team of 10 arrived on the Aquitania last night and promptly was rsked its collectvie opinion of the American ball, which will be| used at Columbus. “We have the handicap of wind in playing in Englan said George Dun- can, British veteran, who acted as tem- porary spokesman of the party. “We need a heavier ball. A professional golfer can adapt himself to the lighter ball, but the business man who plays the game only accasionally can not, and the result is that whenever there is any wind golfers will have a yearning for the old ball. I myself do not belleve the new ball will last more than another year.” Pro Not Affected. F. J. C. Pignon, In charge of the feam, put in an oar long enough to say: “Generally speaking, the American ball is not WXM" among British play- ers. We used the ball in all the test matches from which our membership ‘was selected. We realize that the Amer- ican ball does not affect the profession- al, but it boosts the score of e busi- ness man player, and he is the one who makes golf ible today. Eventually he will rebel; we give him a year to register his protest.? Mnklngbeup the team are Charles A. ‘Whitcombe, the captain; Duncan, Abe Mitchell, Arthur Havers, Archie Comp- ston, Bert Hodson, Fred Robson, W. H. Davies, Ernest R. Whitcombe and Syd Easterbrook. Of these all but Davies, Easterbrook and Hodson are veterans of Ryder Cup play. The Ryder Cup series has been played three times—in 1926 at Wentworth, in 1927 at Worcester, Mass., and in 1929 at Leeds. Great Britain won the first contest, 1315 to 115: the United States the second, 912 to 2}, and Great Brit- ain the third, 7 to 5. Compston. Robson and Duncan have been on all three British teams and Mitchell, Charles and Ernest Whit- combe and Havers on two. Duncan and Mitchell, eldest mem- bers of the team, were heroes of the inaugural series in 1926. In that year Mitchell beat Jim Barnes, 8 and 1. Duncan conquered Walter Hagen, 6 and 5, in the singles. Then . the Britons teamed up to conquer Hagen and Barnes in foursomes, 9 and 8. After the Ryder Cup series the Brit- ons will play in the national open at ‘Toledo, July 2, 3 and 4. They also plan to participate in tournaments gt Chi- cago, Detroit and Toronto. W Accompanying the team on the Aqui- tania were Aubrey Boomer and Percy Alliss, British-born professionals at St. Cloud, France, and Berlin, respectively. SPORTS.: YHE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 1931. .. STRAIGHT OFF THE TEE || Armour’s Entrance Into Pro By WALTER R. McCALLUM: BY WALTER R. McCALLUM. IFF. Bang. Crack. Zowle It sounds like a minor en- gagement in a banana re- public war, or like a trench raid in the big scrap a few years back, and to the men who try to knock a golf ball through the fringing woods on that first nine at the Manor Club it is in- deed a battle. Move down into those colonnaded fairways any day during the current tourney at the Manor Club. Equip yourself with a padded chest pro- tector and be prepared ‘to duck and run for your life, and then—if you are not playing golf and have the’ erotic dis- positicn that enjoys the sufferings of fellow human beings—sit back and watch them suffer. They all suffer down there in those woods, as their shots— both long and short—go ricochetting back and forth between those trees be- fore coming to rest behind a stump. Lots of the boys are finding out to- day, as the final day of medal play in the Manor Club tourney comes to an end, that there is a difference in trees. If you pick out a soft-wood tree to hit with your golf ball you may have a chance. But if you strike a hard- wood tree your ball may go anywhere. Have yourself a look over the scores on that woods nine as the players— good and bad—troop up to the score- &« | board to post their scores, all the while casting disconsolate glances at the heavy growth of trees along those nar- row fairways which Harry Collls laid out three or four years back. There were something more than 500 entries in the Manor Club tournament. All of them will have played that first 9 by midafternoon today, and if 1 of the 500 gets by that tough 9 without having a diplomatic_encounter or two with & tree he will be lucky. 'HE smart gent takes an fron from the tee and poles his tee shots safely down the middle on that nine, while the man who hopes to bust par takes his wooden club and his cour- age in hand and tries to knock the ball straight. Those woods wear 'em all down, though. Good and bad, they all have trouble on that nine. Take the case of Harry Pitt and Miller Stevin- son yesterday. The sixth hole may have cost Stevinson qualification in the first fiight, for on that hole his second shot came to rest in a clump of trees and. although he was only a few yards off the green, he wrote down a burly 7 on his score card. On the fourth hole both Stevinson and Pitt made excur- slons into the primeval forest and both were lucky to get away with 5s on this easy par 4 hole. As we traveled down through those woods with L. C. Pate, watching Pitt and Stevinson struggle to keep level with par, the reports of golf balls hitting trees behind us soumd- ed like a minor battle in the late war. “Biff, bang and zowie.” As those balls ricochetted from the hard boles of Even Dave Thompson, president of the District Golf Association and chair- man of the Greens Committee at Manor—the one man who knows those woods as no one else—had his troubles. Dave got mixed up with the pines on the very first hole and before he finally plunked his ball into the bot- tom of the cup, he had run up a total of 10 strokes. Tom Pitt had much the same experience, but he only got a 7 cn the first hole. But those woods sometimes help, as Mel Shipley will aver. On the third tee Shipley hit a wild shot that was destined to come to rest far down in a bosky dell sur- But on the fringe of the woods his ball hit a tall pine, shot back almost to the tee and gave him an open shot down the fairway. He secured a par 4. and had he gone into the woods he They are ineligible for Ryder Cup com- ) might have had anything. petition, but will play in the national open. WOMAN GOLF STARS LIKE THE NEW BALL 25 Out of 48 Southern Plnyerl,: However, Vote for 0ld One at Virginia Beach. By the Assoclated Press. VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., June 17—/ Leaders among Southern woman golfers | favor the new and larger golf ball, al-| though proponents of the smaller ball elightly outnumbered the others among 48 players from whom opinions were obtained at the recent tournament. Mrs. Marion Turpie Lake, New Or-| leans, who won the champlonship, favors the new ball. The champion says she finds no fault with it. Mrs. Ruth Reymond, New Orleans, runner-up in the women's tournament, | says she also likes the new ball, though | she thinks it more difficult to manage on_the green. ‘The 1931 standard ball is nl.g favored by Virginia Holzderber of Baltimore, the tournament medalist; by the two semi-finalists, Mrs. Harry C. Dodge of Jacksonville and Mrs. Leon Solomon of Memphis; Mrs. David Gaut, the deposed champion; Miss Helen Waring of Pine- hurst, Mrs. Kennon Rodwell of Norfolk and Miss Margaret Maddox of Atlanta. UST to show how that woods nine affects 'em, good and bad alike, have a look at Harry Pitt's score. He was out in 38 on that first nine, which is a short nine, with a par of 36, if woods trouble is avoided. But over the Icngest part of the golf course, a part where occasional variations from the straight and narrow path are not so severely penalized, he scored a sub- par 34, Harry picked up a bird 2 on the e'eventh hole and followed with a string of fours for a 34 and a 72. That sccre probably will stand up to Out of 48 players from whom opin- fons were obtained. 23 favored the new | ball and 25 the old. | those tall pines, strokes went up and up. | rounded by the monarchs of the forest. | MAKES SMOKING MORE ENJOYABLE Greater smoke pleasure . . . everyone wants it. And here’s the way to have it—with your favorite smoke. Keep your mouth moist and cool with Beech-Nut Gum. There’s no gum quite so good in flavor and smoothness. win the ' qualification medal today, even though a considerable group of par hunters have a shot at it. Harry's score is just another testimonial to the kind of golf the Manorite is shoot- ing. He is in a hct streak and if any man beats him in the Manor tourna- ment it will be distinctly what might be called an upset. Among those who started today, how- ever, were such fine golfers as Tom Cole and’ Ernie Caldwell of ‘the Hillendale Club of Baltimore, John C. Shorey of Bannockburn, M. Parker Nolan of Con- gressional, J. Willlam Harvey of Indian Spring and H. L. Lacey, & former Manor Club champion. Scores above 80 are almost certain to be out of the first flight, and there is a possibility that 79 may not make the de. It all depends on how that 's nine affects the boys. And, incidentally, the Manor Club board has set its seal of approval on re- tention of the wood's nine as the regu- lar first nine, even though there has been a lot of conversation regarding a change to make the wood's nine the last nine. Manor is putting on a great show in & fine way. If you don't believe it take a visit out there during the tourna- ment and have some one conduct you 1na’l(md the premises. It's well worth & look. 'RS. BETTY P. MECKLEY of In- dian Spring, medalist in the Gib- son Island tourney yesterday and holder of the District champlonship, today met Mrs, Stuart W. Edgerton in the first round of match play in the tourney being played at Gibson Island. Mrs, Meckley yesterday scored a scin- tillating 87 to win the qualifying medal by two strokes from Mrs. Stephen F. | Colladay of Columbia, who shot an 89. | By the luck of the draw, Mrs. Alma Van Stcinner, who shot a 91, today met Mrs. Ora Enge, who registered 94. Both | players are frorn Beaver Dam. Mrs, | Colleday today played Mrs. W. Fairfield | Peterson of Baltimore, winner of the tourney last year. Other scores made by Washingtonians follow: Mrs. L. Lawler, 101: Mrs. Frank R. Keefer, Chevy Chase, 101. Listen to the sad plaint of Victor Cahlll, Congressional Country Club ‘gnller. For many, many months, ever since early last Fall, a cigarette com- pany has been giving away packets of | cigarettes for birdies. yed | | many a round of golf, but the elusive | birdie has escaped him. | | Yesterday, playing with George Wise and A. L. Zachary, he sank a lengthy putt on the fifteenth hole at the Manor | Club for a birdie 3. Waltzing into the | caddie house, Cahill announced that he had a birdie and nonchalantly asked for the package of cigaretfes that go with them. He was dumfounded when the boy in the shop informed him that the cigarette offer had run out the day before. So he had a friend autograph a package and took it home | to his wife, anyhow. | BOWLING LEAGUE MEETS A meeting of the bowling league of the Holy Name Union of Washington will be held tonight in the parish hall of the Church of the Holy Comforter, Fifteenth and East Capitol streets, at 8 o'clock. Plans will be outlined for next season and a constitution adopted. Those parishes which already have become members of the gue follow: St. Pcter’s, St. Anthony's, Holy Comforter, St. Paul's and Holy Rosary. Other | parishes have been invited to send del- egates to the meeting tonight. The present officers of the league are | George F. Harbin, president; J. Ed- | wards Weeks, vice president; R. F. Hard- Ranks Turning Career, Bobby Jones Asserts BY BOBBY JONES. (American” Open_and American Amateur ” Champlon.) N reviewing Tommy Armour's great victory in the recent British open golf champlonship, I cannot help thinking that Tommy deserves a little bit more than the usual amount of credit, not merely for his play in this particular tournament, but for the all-round and consistent excellence of the game which he has developed for himself. Armour has not reached his present position without a whole lot of hard work, and I think that that fact ought not to be overlooked. It was in the year 1920 that Armour made his first appearance in America, playing in our amateur championship that year at the Engineers’ Club, on Long Island. He was a very stylish player then, with a very fast, decisive stroke which was pretty hard to watch. But he was not a great golfer by any means. His iron play was above what we might eall the first-flight average, but his wood clups frequently let him down and his pulting was very weak. He played in a few of the champion- ships succeeding after 1920 without ever attaining any outstanding suc- cesses. In other words, when he first came over he was just a good amateur golfer. Become Clever Pros. It is a strange thing that a number of men who Jater made enviable names for themselves as professional golfers earlier played in amateur compe- titions without making much headway, and this although their amateur oppo- sition was considerably weaker than that which they encountered in the pro- fessional field. Abe Mitchell made several unsuccess- ful attempts upon the British amateur and a few years later was recognized as Great Britain's leading professional, nd one of the greatest players in the rid. And then young Denny Shute failed to make a showing in either ama- teur or open events until he became a pro, since which time he has had his share of prizes, and has figured promi- nently in at least two natlonal opens. I suppose it must be that more time for practice and for giving thought to the game has been what these men needed. |ley, secretary; Francis Breen, recording | secretary, and Joseph McCarthy, treas- | urer. | . The duckpin loop is sponsored by the Washington section of the Baltimore Archdiocesan Union of the Holy Name Societie: Panamas, Leg- '@hom and Milans Cleaned and Blocked By Modern and Scientifie Factory Methods. ~ Vienna Hat Co. 435 11th St. um Genuine Ever-Ready Blades - make away with your whiskers without taking away your smile...Theyre extra keen. Ever-Ready Blades shave perfectly i in Ever-Ready | and old-type Point of His Certainly Armour did not make much headway until he left the amateur ranks. He turned pro I think in accept- ing a prise in one of the Texas Winter tournsments, and that same year he scored bis first big victory in one of the Florida tournaments. Handicapped by impaired vision in one eye, it must have taken a lot of determination to keep on working on that drive and putt. A Sudden Change. 1t looks almost as though the thing came to him more or less suddenly. |I played with Armour almost daily througout one Winter season in Florida when we were both in Sarasota, and while he was a very great iron player then, he was still far from being the olfer he is now. During that Winter e did get his putting pretty well straightened out through constant ex- perimenting with different clubs and strokes, but his driving continued to be uncertain, particularly when he was getting tired. We played a lot of 36-hole 4-ball matches as partners gainst combinations like Serazen-Die- gel, Farrell-Barnes and Hagen-Nichols, and in one against Sarazen and Diegel, ‘Tommy's driving went 80 to pleces after the turn in the afternoon that he hit not one fairway on the last nine. And |he was in very nearly that condition when he left Sarasota in April of 1926. I played a practice round* with him at | Columbus before the national open that year, and although he went around in 69 he had only marvelous putting to thank for his score. Adds Needed Asset. ‘What Armour did between July, 1926, and June, 1927, I do not’ know, but within that period he added the only thing that was needed to make him a really great golfer—he found somewhere a powerful and reliable drive. cBurse the courageous finish which he made in holing a 10-foot putt for & birdle 3 on the last hole to tie Harry Cooper is a well known bit of history, but the thing that I remember best about Armour in that tournament was his driving in the play-off. Cooper himself is, and was at that time, a powerful duiver, yet Armour was con- sistently ahead him off the tee and was far the straighter of the two. Since that time it has been hard to pick a flaw in Tommy's game, A fine driver, probably the best iron player in the world, and a good putter about CR S EATED SPORTS. Invading British Professional Golfers Give New Ball Only a Year to “Live” DIXIE GOLF CHAMPION AFTER THIRD CROWN these | Spicer Meets Lazard in Opening BY SOL METZGER. Glenna Collett, America’s leading woman player, has carefully ana- lyzed golf. She finds that the aver- Tha with other clubs if par is to be se- cured by sex. However, those 14 drives are ex- tremely important. They must be 14 DRIVES 36 PUTTS PER ROUNO ~ SAYS COLLETT ol Gy, 616 placed not only on the fairway, but in position for the second ~shot, whether it be with wood or iron. Placing a drive, according to lett, is & matter of considering the entrance to the hole. If the green is trapped severely on the right, :r.l\yu wn the left side of the fair- 8ol Metzger offers an illustrated leaflet on “Driving,” which will help every golfer having trouble off the tee. Send stamped, addressed en- velope for it. Address Sol Metzger, in care of this paper. LYON METAL TIRE COVERS What the Well-Dressed Car Should Wear L.S.JULLIEN,Inc. 1443 P St. Round of Southern Amateur at Chattanooga. By the Associated Press. CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., June 17.— Emmett Spicer of Memphis, seeking his third Southern amateur golf champion- ship, today faced J. C. Lazard of New Orleans in the selective round 18-hole am:h play over the Riverview course re. ‘The Memphis star, who won Dixie titles in 1926 and 1930, did not play in yesterday’s qualifying round, but his early practice rounds warned his rivals that he is on top of his game. Scudday Horner, 16-year-old Nash- ville boy, who won medal honors in the 18-hole qualifying round with a 71, one {over the course’s 70 par, is paired with Wilbur Oakes, jr, son of the profes- sional here. ‘Those having 78 or better qualified yesterday for top flight. Today's match play round divided the 32 low scorers of yesterday into two flights of ! i ville. Alan Smith, Asheville, vs. Pred Leare B i NET FINAL LISTED TODAY Women’s League Doubles Delayed on Account of Heavy Court. Mrs. Ruth Martinez and _Frances Walker were to face Doroth: and Cecyle Raver in the of the doubles in the Women's District Tennis League tournament this evening at 5 o'cloc': on the Columbia Country Club courts. The match was scheduled yesterday but postponed because of soggy courts. NEW FOR PENN STATE. Penn State will not play foot ball on Thanksgiving day next Fall, the first time there has been no game scheduled 30 years. HABANELLO the aristocrat of cigars UST as a captain leads his company, Orange Ameri- can Gas steps out in front of other regular gasolines. For it has the qualities which make it a real leader among all gasolines in its price class. Orange American Gas sets the pace for rapid-fire accelera- tion, for unfailing uniformity, for performance that outranks all other regular gasolines. Drive up to any Orange Amer- ican Gas Pump—from then on you’ll salute this great gas as the leader of the “regulars”. ‘The AMERICAN, OIL COMPANY ‘Waslu‘utou Office: South Washington, Va. 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