World Is Winner in Team E"Vent
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
By WORLD IS WINNER JOSEPH C. DEY, JR. USGA Executive Director IN TEAM E"VENT Secretary, World Amateur Golf Council • he young man from Australia leaned T across the dinner table and won the ear of the elderly gentleman from Japan: "Doli't spill any soup on my tie!" he admonished. For the Australians and the Japanese had agreed to exchange team neckties. This sm'all incident was not on the bills of the great dinner in the wonderful old Town Hall of St. Andrews, but it epi- tomized the spirit of the occasion. The Australian player, Douglas Bachli, and the" Japanese official, Shun Nomura, were, without knowing it, expressing what everybody felt on this eve of the first World Amateur Golf Team Cham- pionship. This was the temper that also pervaded the days which followed-sunny but wildly wind-blown days in which 115 players from 29 countries came to realize thei~ essential unity, not just RS golfers out" as fellow-humans and, finally, as friends. If a contrast be needed to point it up, imagine what might have happened if Doug Bachli had met Shun Nomura I.S. Malik playing Captain of the Indian about 15 years ago. team at St. Andrews. The impulses for good which went out from old St. Andrews in the second week the USGA to deal constructively with re- vi October, 1958, exceeded the fondest curring requests for matches from indi- hopes of those who first dreamed the vidual countries, the latest of which had dream of a World Championship. come from Japan in ,December, 1957, As for numbers, the dreamers had first through the good offices of Juan T. dared to envision about 15 countries par- Trippe, of New York. ticipating; but 29 were represented at S1. March 6-8-USGA representatives (John Andrews, and a 30th entered before hav- D. Ames, President, and the writer) met ing to scratch. at S1. Andrews, Scotland, with represen- As for competition, it could hardly tatives of the Royal and Ancient Golf have been keener, with Australia finally Club. invited them to join hands with the winning the Eisenhower Trophy by two USGA, and proposed St. Andrews-Mecca strokes after a play-off with the United to knowing golfers-as the location of the States. first Championship. The R&A cooperated , The time-table was quick even for this to the full. ::;geof speed; it went like this: May 2-3-Representatives of national January 23, 1958-A World Champion- amateur golf associations in 35 countries ship plan was first presented to the met in Washington; airplane transporta- USGA Executive Committee and was im- tion was provided by American friends of mediately approved in principle. It was golf. They created the World Amateur conceived in part as a means of enabling Golf Council with 32 Member Organiza- 4 USGA JOURNAL AND TURF MANAGEMENT: NOVEMBER, 195& tions and planned the first Champion- The Old Course has a bottomless bag of sl:ip. President Eisenhower received the tricks, with many hidden bunkers of vary- delegates at the White House. ing sizes but invariably deep, and the October 8-11 and 13-First Champion- wind is its greatest ally. The course is ship held at St. Andrews. two holes wide; it winds straight out for The Championship was richly blessed seven holes, has a loop of four, and comes with a number of other strokes of good straight home for the last seven. Double fortune. President Eisenhower endorsed greens of considerable acreage serve 14 the plan and allowed the Championship holes. Most trouble is on the right, where Trophy to be named in his honor. Bob there are tall, prickly, unplayable gorse Jones accepted the non-playing captaincy (whins) and occasional out of bounds. of the United States team; his presence The greens were glazed by the wind. at St. Andrews was magnetic. On the par 3 eleventh of 173 yards, where Even with all these favorable factors, the green faces sheerly toward the tee there was needed the positive interest of and the wind was against and across, it countries where golf is not nearly as was not unusual to see a golfer land his popular as in most English-speaking tee shot on the green, then run to it be- lrnds. This, too, was evoked. Countries fore the wind had a chance to blow it off. with only a handful or two of golf courses Taking a stance with a putter was took just as keen interest as the major hazardous, especially that gusty first day. golf nations. Dr. Frank M. (Bud) Taylor of the United Seymour Marvin, non-playing Captain States twice sustained a penalty stroke in of Brazil's team, expressed a wonderful the first round when his ball moved on point of view when he said: "We came the green after address. Once, as he start- liot with the expectation of winning ed his putter backwards, the ball simply but rather to contribute what we could followed the path of the clubhead-in the to the occasion merely by being present." wrong direction! Magnus Gudmundsson, Captain of Ice- Fortunately, the week was gloriously land's team, said: "We don't have an sunny except for two brief showers. Had earthly chance of winning, but we have play been rained on, the conditions would come to show that we exist." have been appalling. As it was, the strong, And so the hopeful inscription on the chill wind and the glazed greens made Eisenhower Trophy has come to life: play terribly difficult. Anything under 80 'lo FOSTER FRIENDSHIP AND SPORTSMANSHIP was a fine score. The fairways were slow, AMONG THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD after evening showers and a summer of It is regrettable that Communist lands excessive rain. were not represented. Every country in The form of play was unusual and, as the world had been officially invited, but it turned out, thrilling in the extreme. It golf simply does not exist within the was 72 holes stroke play one round a day. Communist orbit except in very isolated Each team's score each day was the total cases. of its three best individual scores (four The Old Course in Tricky Mood players were allowed to a side). The sum The R&A and the Town Council of St. of the daily totals was the team total for Andrews provided warm hospitality and the Championship. This formula gave all a perfect setting. Flanking the first and four players an opportunity to "make the the 18th fairways of the Old Course were team" at some time or other; in fact, only 29 tall white flagpoles, specially erected, one player of the entire 115 failed to par- where flew the ensigns of the participat- ticipate in his team's final score. The for- ing countries. Just before 8 A. M. on the mula also contributed vastly to the un- fIrst day-Wednesday, October 8-a bag- certainty of how the teams stood during piper in kilts heralded the raising of the play; for instance, Mr. Smith might go 29 flags, parading up and down the road out in 41 and appear to be out of it, but which crosses the two holes. a spurt coming home could enable him And then they were off, into the teeth to displace some teammate who finished of a breath-taking westerly wind which weakly. The system was borrowed from averaged between 35 and 40 miles an the old American Intercollegiate team hour the first day and moderated only championship. slightly thereafter. The victory of Australia's team was USGA JOURNAL AND TURF MANAGEMENT: NOVEMBER, 1958 OLD SCENE, NEW PLAY The first tee of the Old Course at 81. Andrews during the final round of the World Amateur Team Championship. Henri deL amaze, of France, is driving, watched by Dr. Frank M. Taylor, Jr. (white cap), of the United States, and Bruce W. Devlin, Australia (dark sweater in left background). The first motorized cart to be used at St. Andrews enabled Robert T. Jones, Jr., to perform his duties as American Cap- tain. At left, with umbrella, is Lord Morton of Henryton, Captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. completely deserved. They had a horrible home hole. There the difference consisted start, and were 17 strokes behind the of two birdie 3s by Bruce Devlin, who leader after the first round, not one of holed from 18 feet, and Robert Stevens, their four players doing better than 81. Australia's Captain, who holed from They whittled their deficit to nine strokes eight. after 36 holes, four strokes after 54:, and Australia's other representatives were made a fine finish which tied with the Peter Toogood and Douglas Bachli, the United State.s. 1954 British Amateur Champion. They The Old Course is never open for play were a splendid team, not only as players on Sunday, and so the play-off was put but especially as ambassadors. over to Monday morning. This was the The United States side consisted of least windy and the warmest day of the Charles R. Coe (National Amateur Cham- week, and it brought out some splendid pion), William Hyndman, III, William J. golf. Australia's margin was two strokes, Patton and Dr. Frank M. Taylor, Jr. 222 to the United States' 224. Throughout the first two rounds the Two Birdies on Home Hole leader was the team representing Great The contest came right down to the Britain and Ireland-Joseph B. Carr (Bri- USGA JOURNAL AND TURF MANAGEMENT: NOVEMBER, 1958 tish Amateur Champion), Reid Jack brought the American total to 918, tying (1957 Champion), Arthur Perowne and Australia.