Golf

As everyone expected, eight long-trousered, pipe-smoking Britishers were too weak to walk off with the Walker Cup, which eight be-knickered, cigaret-smoking golfers retained for the U. S. last week at the Chicago Golf Club. Never in the seven years of Walker Cup history has a British team driven far enough, approached close enough, putted accurately enough to lift the trophy. As few expected, the Britishers lost all but one of the twelve matches. Dentist-Golfer T. A. Torrance, Scotch by birth, English in residence, was the only British winner. Onetime U. S. amateur-U. S. open champion Chick Evans was the only U. S. loser.

Despite one-sided golf, the tournament entertained with extra curricula features. George Von Elm, of the U. S. squad, hooked a ball into the rough, came up to it, began to address the ball, was about to hit it when from the underbrush wriggled a snake. It disappeared.

Von Elm resumed his stance, swung his iron, lifted the ball toward the green, which was encircled by the gallery. None saw where the ball lighted, save that it plopped somewhere among the spectators. Everyone looked at everyone else. One spectator felt in his pocket, found the ball, in embarrassment dropped it on good ground. Not inexcusably Von Elm lost the hole, but won the match with Dr. (not dental) William Tweddell.

In the practice rounds, Francis Ouimet, George Von Elm, Harrison Johnston, Jess Sweetser stood on the eighth tee in the rain, waited for the honor man to tee up. Thunder blasted, lightning spat at a fence a few yards away from the mound, shocked slightly the foursome, most annoyed Sweetser, who had only to make two pars for a 35.

Spectators, players alike tittered at Walter Hagen, who was working for a news syndicate. A few days before, Hagen started from Oshkosh, Wis., for Menomonie, Wis., drove instead to Menominee, Mich., 300 miles distant, failed to keep an exhibition match appointment, had to apologize by telephone for his stupid error.