Vol. XXVIII
mini..
....""......
FEBRUARY 14, 1925
Entered as second class matter
at the post office at PINEHTJRST, N. 0. SuhscriDtion 00 npi* vA&f
....mm iiuiiiii ...........
IIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIitlllllltlllllllllllllllllltlllllllli
Number 9
iiiiniiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiit
Annual St. Valentine’s Tournament
(By Burt Hoxie)
jr^rjEDALIST as well as winner in match play was the un
|V| usual, as well as great fortune which crossed the path
II of A. M. Hoxie, of Boston, in the Annual St. Valentine’s
tournament last week. No jinx was attached to the best card
and pencil shooter as is very often the case. With a card of
75 he won the gold medal with a single shot to spare, follow
ing which four stiff rounds of match play were necessary to
cash in on the President’s Trophy.
P. S. P. Randolph, Jr., of the Point Judith Club, was the
runner-up, this being the second instance this season where he
has just fallen shy of the main laurels. The thin margin of one
hole separated him from victory, though throughout the ma
jority of the finals his cause looked unusually bright. Before
passing on to the rather exciting transpirings in the real show
down, it is apropos to refer to the fortunes of the finalists’
previous matches. Hoxie eliminated in turn, W. O.
Schaff, of New York, 3 and 1; H. J. Blue, of Aberdeen, 3 and 2,
and P. W. Whittemore 2 and 1. The third victory created quite
a surprise as Whittemore was acknowledged to be the best of
any in the field. But he suffered a let down when nearing the
wire, leading the majority of the way, but found himself unable
to get back to normal when the skidding was on its way.
Randolph’s first two matches were nip and tuck. D. G.
Herring, of Princeton, N. J., carried him to the home green,
the score being 2 up, following which F. T. Keating, of Pine
hurst, participated in a match which was decided by the final
putt on the home green. Keating’s showing was somewhat
of a surprise considering his mediocre tee shots. But he made
up for this by his deadly accuracy around and upon the sand;
and but for Randolph’s dropping a long putt, extra holes would
have followed.
Joseph Hotchkiss, of New Haven, was the third to attempt
to give Randolph a battle. But “Joe” and the gallery were
disappointed. The New Haven golfer slipped away from his
usual speed, and was beaten 3 and 2.
The final round was probably the best golf that followers
have seen here this season. Not that the golf was particularly
brilliant by either, but rather due to the fact that Hoxie staged
a comeback when apparently hopelessly beaten. Though a
leader at the start, two up at the third in fact, the advantage
soon slipped away, so that when the battle was half over Ran
dolph was leading by 1 up, out in 38 to Hoxie’s 39. Randolph
played steady golf and soon stood in the comfortable position
of being three up at the thirteenth hole. Hoxie’s drives were
off line, his putts shy, and little in his golf kit was working
well. After the long fourteenth was halved in birdie fours,
with Randolph three up and four to go, the hand-writing
seemed to be on the wall. But at this point Hoxie recovered
his equilibrium and Randolph lost his. Both hooked to a trap
on the fifteenth but Randolph had no success in dislodging his
ball from the hazard, and finally conceded the hole when Hoxie
blasted to the green on his second. On the long sixteenth
both players were well down the fairway with their drives,
Randolph having the advantage in distance. Hoxie needed a
full wood to get home, and so successfully did the shot come off
that a six-foot putt was left for a 3. Randolph hooked his
second about hole high, was short on his third, and dropped
another hole when Hoxie obtained an easy four. The short
seventeenth was where Lady Luek favored the winner. From
the edge of the green Hoxie holed out for a deuce, and Ran
dolph’s par three was of no use. All even they now stood,
Hoxie having won three in a row with one hole to go. Hoxie’s
drive here was half missed and in the rough. And his second
went hardly more than a hundred yards. From the edge of
the rough he elected to play safe and mashied his way down
the fairway with a short pitch left for his third. Hoxie had to
resort to the wood and duplicated his effort on the sixteenth,
the hall just failing to make the sand. t
Matters finally came down to who could hole a six-foot putt.
Hoxie did, Randolph didn’t, and offered his congratulations.
Both scored 78’s.
The summary:
First round—T. R. Brown defeated H. O. Christ, 4 and 3;
P. W. Whittemore defeated H. H. Rackham, 6 and 5; H. J.
Blue defeated J. Weller, 6 and 5; A. M5 Hoxie defeated
W. G. Schaff, 3 and 1; F. T. Keating defeated E. dePlague, 1
up; P. S. P. Randolph, Jr., defeated D. G. Herring, 2 up; J. D.'
{Continued on page10) »