V o 1. XXVII
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Ete , „ , MARCH 15, 1924
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Number 13
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Japanese Golfer Wins Big Spring Tournament
THE golfing world received somewhat of a shock when last
week s 20th annual Spring Tournament here was won bv
‘a Japanese player, Rokuro Akahoshi, a 24-year-old Im
perial Prince who makes his home in Princeton, N. J., where he
attended college for two years
after being graduated from
Lawrenceville Academy. Not
until the fall of 1919 did he ever
hit a golf ball. His victory here
was popular for he proved him
self a true sportsman and fighter
and impressed the experts with
the possibilities of his game.
In the matter of hitting a ball,
Akahoshi reminds one greatly
of Walter Hagen, his swing
seeming to be even sounder than
is that of the former British
and American open champion.
He “stays put”, as they say,
better than does Hagen who
sways forward as he hits a full
stroke. As a putter Pinehurst
has seen few more consistent
men than Akahoshi; it is a rare
thing to see him mjss a putt of
less than 10 feet and his long
ones nearly always give one the
impression that they may drop.
He is a mighty smiter, getting
tremendous distance when his
timing is right and his irons and
full mashies are hit crisply. In
the matter of half shots one
finds his greatest weakness but
he is endeavoring to bolster up
this department of his game and the experts here declare that he
will become a serious contender in any company in a few years.
The eventual tournament winner who is a member- of the famous
Pipe Valle) dub, stood fifth when all the qualifying figures were
compiled. He began by scoring a 79 on the No. 3 course and
was one of the three to break 8C there on that day. He followed
with a round of 84 on the No. 2 course which included a 7 on the
17th hole where he got tangled in a trap. His victims in match
play, in the order of their coming and going, were Larry Paton,
of Boston, winner of the St. Valentine tournament ; E. C. Beall,
of Uniontown; William F.'McPhail, of Boston, one of the Bay
State’s real stars; and Donald Parson, who had won the tourna
ment a year ago. x
The Japanese sharpshooter twice was carried7 to extra holes,
to the 19th by Paton and to th4 20th by Beall, who registered a
brilliant 3 on the 18th hole to square the match. McPhail bit the
dust thrown up .by Akahoshi, 3 and 1, while Parson was stopped
in the final by 4 up and 3 to go. In three of his four matches
the winner came from behind to win, Paton stood dormie 2 but
the man from the Orient was not to he denied. McPhail stood 2
Rokuro Akahoshi, Winner of the President’s Trophy
Annual Spring Tournament last week, in
more than 300 golfers took pdrt.
in the Twentieth
which
up with six holes to play, then
: watched the persistent man of
Tokyo win four of the next five
holes. ■
The game is growing, by leaps
and bounds in far-off Japan and
this win here of Akahoshi’s
undoubtedly will do its bit tp,r
speed up interest in golf among
Akahoshi’s countrymen. He*
went home two summers ago
and played on several courses.
He says one course, near Yoko
hama, is . of true championship
calibre and that there are many
fair nine-hole courses in the
country.
To John D. Chapman, of
Greenwich, went the gold medal -
for leading the field of 319 to
the qualification wire. His open
ing round of 73 on the No. 3
course gave him a long lead
which he held to by stroking
the championship course in 78.
His total of 151 was eight better
than the return of B. P. “Buck”
Merriman, of Bridgeport Third
qaulifier was McPhail with 84
and 76, this latter being the low
of the entire field on the No. 2
course. Scores of 169 put their
makers into the first flight to do battle for the President’s trophy,
which finally went to Akahoshi.
Altogether there were 17 divisions of 16 drawn for match
play and, counting prizes for 'flight winners and runners-up,^
consolation victors and medalist, the prizes totalled 52. ^
STATZELL MAKES HOLE IN ONE ^
One of the outstanding things of the tournament week was a
hole-in-one scored by George W. Statzell, of Aronimink, a former
Pinehurst Seniors’ champion, who putted right into the cup from
the tee at the 138-yard 14th hole of the No. 3 course. Here
the,tee shot calls for play with a mashie over a little pond. W.
E. Truesdell, of Garden City, another veteran of links campaigns
got a 3 on the 523-yard 17th hole of the same course in the
qualification round. A week earlier he had made a 3 on the 537
yard hole of the championship course, so that within a week he got
eagle 3’s on the two longest holes in Pinehurst. . ^ ^
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