GOLF.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 October 1921, Page 11

GOLF.

BRITISH GOLFERS IN AMERICA. MITCHELL’S UNPRECEDENTED ACTION. Interest in the American golf championship has been almost as keen as that excited by the event recently decided at St. Andrews, for we had sent over our two foremost players, George Duncan and Abe Mitchell, and there was -strong hope that they might avenge the loss of the British Cup, says a special London correspondent under date July 28. Both safely passed the qualifying test and Duncan made a fine beginning with a round of 72. But from this point the cable sent us no words of encouragement. Before the end of the first day Mitchell had torn up his card and Duncan had fallen far behind ultimately to finish in the seventh place with rounds of 72, 78, 78 and 77, or a total of 305. It was all very disappointing, and so far as Mitchell was concerned, frankly distressing. We do not know yet exactly what happened beyond the fact that he took 81 for the first round and that on the ninth green in the afternoon, after having taken 41. he picked up his ball and retired from the championship. The championship took place on the course of the Columbia Country Club near Washington and the weather was fiercely hot. Mitchell has said that the heat was too much for him and that he was playing so badly that he recognised that it was hopeless to continue. Still, for a firstclass professional to retire before a championship is half-way through. is unprecedented. The general opinion is that Mitchell was so mentally and nervously distressed by his failure that when he picked up his ball he did not appreciate the significance of his action; indeed,- that he did not know what he was doing. We now know that if he had continued it would have been impossible for him to have recovered from bis woeful start, but after what happened at Deal a year ago no man should ever lose hope. Then, at the end of the second round. Mitchell led Duncan by as many as thirteen strokes and' if ever a man seemed utterly out of it, it was the Hangar Hill player. But he had crept up to the second place by the end of the third round and at the finish he was first. The honors in this twentyfifth American championship were gained by Jim Barnes, a Cornishman whe went* out to America whilst in his teens nineteen years ago. He began with a record round of 69 and he followed this with 75, 73, and 72. It was truly wonderful scoring and at the finish he was as many as nine strokes ahead of the second man, Fred M’Leod, who is the professional of the Columbia Country Club. Despite Hutchinson’s success’ at St. Andrews, there is little doubt that Barnes is America’s leading golfer. He seemed to be certain of winning the British title when only one round remained io be played, but a month or so before he had undergone an operation and had not wholly recovered his strength and his failure at the finish was chiefly due to physical exhaustion. Barnes has the ideal golfing temperament. He is almost as indifferent to success as the amateur. That is to say he does not feel that failure entails any loss of prestige, and when the shots go wrong he merely shrugs his shoulders and continues to amble round the course as if he were practising.