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Show ' SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD CI1AAPION GOLP PLAYER. !A seventeen-year-old girl Is tho newest new-est golf champion She Is Miss Dene-vlcvo Dene-vlcvo Meeker Sho has demonstrated , that sho Is In n class by hortclf In i point of skill, onduranco nnd nerve ; She has not lucn playing tery long, for until n very short time ngo sho was a Bchool girl whoso uttentlon to her - duties nt school left her llttlo time for practlco , Sho learned her splendid gamo on ' the links of tbo Wco Hum flolf club i- nt Stamford, Conn. When alio entered , k for the championship of tho Women a Metropolitan Oolf association, which was played at tho Morris County Oolf club at Morrlstown, N J, last week thcro was scarcely n person In this country outsldo of her own clubmatca ' who thought that sho had any chance of winning tho great event, for the 1 H$mL Add Included Miss Ttuth Underbill, the present national woman champion, Mlsa Beatrice Hoyt. the Bhlnnecock Hills girl who bad held the title for (the wonderful acd unprecedented time let time years In succession; Miss .Marlon Oilier, tho long driving champion, cham-pion, Miss Maud IC Wctnore, tho Newport champion, who was runner up to Miss Hoyt in 1893, and a number of others of national tamo Mlsa Dicker was practically unknown, un-known, although sho had qualified at tho last woman's championship, and $&f jk while this feat save her a certain amount of standing Miss Hoyt and Miss Underbill hern the centre of the public eye The first day of the tournament tour-nament saw Miss flecker qualify, but so modestly and unassumingly that she was unnoticed In the first day's match play sho beat Mlsa Marlon Snearson. formerly champion of the Ontwentsla club, Chlcaro, by 4 up nnd 3 to play, and still she was unnoticed Tho next day sho met Miss Wctmoro. and after they finished tho 'gallery" won surprised by the announcement that Miss Meeker had won by the samo big score as tho day before Still they could not seo the writing on tho wall and prophesied Walt till sho moot SIlss Hoyt tomorrow" Walt they did but after being two down at tho turn .Miss linker slruck n wonderful streak of piny, and at tho sixteenth they were a I ot en With but two to go Mlis Hoyt, old tournnment plajcr nnd champion that sho Is, was struck with nervousness ami topped her drive Into the bunker Miss Ilecker, co.fl aa n cucumber, drovo magnificent ball nnd won tho hole Iloth played tho Inst hole perfectly and divided It, leaving Miss Heckcr the winner by ono up on tho heretofore, peerless Mlsa Hoyt She still had Miss Underhlll left to conquer, but nfter dividing the first hole with her Mlsa Hccker began to play the most wonderful iof 0ier shown tar n woman In the Unltod States, without exception, and won tight holes In succession Thoy halved tho tenth, nnd Miss Heckcr, taking tho noxt, won tho championship by 3 up and 7 to piny, tho largest score over recorded In a championship It Is by this series of defeats, administered admin-istered to the best players In the country, coun-try, even moro than by tho actual fact of winning tho title of champion that Miss Hecker has raised herself to the proud position she now holds A com blnatlon ot luck and a lucky draw which allow ono to meet only easy op. ponents until tho final round may give an Inferior player tho title, but It la only the most sterling play worthy of a true champion that can enable a play, er to vanquish opponent after opponent, oppo-nent, each one a famous player, Thla newest golf champion Is a born and bred Connecticut girl She la the daughter of V, 0 Hecker, the mnltl-millionaire mnltl-millionaire flour merchant. |
