MADE TO PLAY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 304, 18 August 1932, Page 2

MADE TO PLAY

SON WINS CHAMPIONSHIP THROUGH FATHER'S EFF.ORTS NOT ALLOWED TO WORK John de Forest, of Addington, won the British amateur golf championship at Muirhead, Edinburgh, on May 28, beating Erie Fiddian by three holes up and one to play in the 36 holes final. He is the first man to be a golf champion because his father insisted that he must, says Mr. Patrick— Murphy in the "Daily Express." While John played in the cold and rain at Muirfield his father, Baron de Forest, the millionaire financer, politician, and sportsman, sat by the wireless in his villa at Biarritz chuckling. John was winning a championship because he had made him play golf. When John had won Mr. Murphy telephoned to the Baron to tell him the news. His chuckle was the first thing that the listener heard. "Oh! Thanks very much, it is very lcind of you," said the pleased father. "Now you see the value of persistence. I ara very pleased with John. He is a good golfer and I am glad he has won. But he would most certainly never have become champion had I not insisted upon him sticking to golf. He will now be glad he did not stick to business, but, like a good fellow, did^as I asked him, and went on with his golf. "You see, the one thing I did not want my boys to develop was the capacity to loaf. He has a wonderful eye and an amazing nerve. At business he has shown anything but genius. He likes a good time, and all that sort of thing. "Anyway, I could see that he would never develop into a great business man so I told him that I would not give him a liberal allowance unless he did stick to golf. "Like a good fellow, he did for a while, and then refused. So he went into business." Actually John de Forest was a vandriver at one period of this venture into business. His father eontinued: "Well, he found business, such as it was, still less interesting than golf. So he threw up business and r^greed to play golf. You see the result of my persistence." Again the deep chuckle came over the telephone. "Ho deserves all the credit in the world but I must claim a certain measure of it for my persistence in malcing him play." The famour miilionaire, one of the richest and best-known men in Europe, seemed to be utterly content. "And now that he has won, baron, are you going to make him any special present to reward his pluclc and slcill?" he was asked. The baron's chuckle became a hearty laugh. Ha! ha! I think you must let me give John the first news about anything like that. I think he may be glad he did not remain in business.