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Show GRANTLAND RICE v-V In balloting for the World's Great-1 Great-1 est Optimist we have a candidate who should be named by acclamation Ho is none other than the soothsayer sooth-sayer or expert who believes he coin successfully rank the first ten golf professionals for 1922. Tho start, of course. Is simple. Gene Sarazc-n comes first As United Statta open clmpion, P. Q A champion and conqueror of Hngon, Hutchison and Barnes at match play, ho is so I far In front that no one else, is even I close HaRi-n, as British open champion, I comes si cond Hagon played well ut I Skoklo also, but ho was not amon tho first four. And after Saraaen and Hagon aro named the scramble la one of tin II. 1-est 1-est we have over seen. NO REPEATERS. For many years we have, had Hagon, Ha-gon, Barnes and Hutchison mopping up tho highway in nearly all important import-ant events. The routine had become almost deadly. But 1P22, not far away from Its historic his-toric finish, has scattered routine ill o e r the map. There has never been a year In golf history v(h.t- repeaters wero so fow and so far upart, where there ere no repeaters at all In tho leading dozen events of the year. Recently we made a careful check of the leading tournaments of the season, sea-son, to see just how widely the olive-was olive-was scattered. And We ran Into the.9o results: Columbia Open, Jock Hutchison, Hutchi-son, North and South. Pat O'llara; British Open, Wralter Hagen. United States Open, Gene Sarazen; New Yo-lc State Open, George Duncan; Western Open, Mike Brady: Southern Open, Abo Mitchell; Massachusetts Open, 1 George Kerrigan. Ohio State Open, I Bmmett French; Metropolitan Open, I Marty O'Loughlln; Shawnee Open. 1 Johnny Farrell. TOO MANY GOOD ONES. Judging from these figures, how is any one to rank eight or ten others after he has picked Sarazen und Ha gen as winners of the two main trophies? Hutchison and Barnes, for examp'e. have both been playing good, sound golf most of the year, yet they have never known such lean returns in thj j wav of victory . The answer Is that too many good 1 ones have Improved their play and ,have now come forward where gooel, lound golf isn't enough to win with. In the Southern Open at Belle Meade, over a course 6400 yards long. Barnes and French turned in 283 for 7 2 holes This Is an average of five strokes under even -is. They were playing at B pace slightly faster than a 71 clip for four rounds. Yet this pace failed to land them even second money, in fact, they wero three strokes away from the second cash allotment, despite de-spite unusually fine golf. THE FASTER CLIP The pace has been growing faster and faster, and as more and more youngsters enter the game and strike for the top lt Is going to be harder an.l harder to win Take the case of Walter Hagen. After winning the British Open, leading lead-ing Barnes Hutchison anel Duncan in a dri Ing finish, the indications were that Hagen upon his return would have his greatest season over here. Ho has rarely played better golf The vital Statistics show that out of fifty or sixty matches he averaged 71 strokes. Yet he was unable to win another tournament Duncan beat him in tho New York State Open, ho finished fifth in tho U. S Open and well down the lino in tho Southern Open. There is now an ever Increasing colony able at certain Intervals to play almost unbeatable golf. In golf no outside pressure can be brought to put them off. For those few rouls they have the groove established and the putting touch, and down they drop to a 68 or a 69. Ten days later they may be back to 76 or 77. It la OOVi largely a matter of being on top of one's best game at the right time, If one isn't, he has no show at all to win. Not a bit. |