Roger Wethered is one of the best amateur golfers in England (British Amateur Champion 1923), and one of the most aristocratic. He is a friend of the Prince of Wales and often plays with him. Last week Roger Wethered got to the finals of the British Amateur at Prestwick, Scotland, and found that he had to play against someone named Perkins. Nothing was known about Perkins except that he was 24 years old and that his initials were T. P. Some people pointed out that Perkins is traditionally a butler’s name; others took Mr. Wethered’s opponent for an American because he belted his trousers over his sweater. A big crowd came down from London and stood around the first tee to watch Mr. Wethered and Perkins drive off in the rain that is the traditional background for sporting events in Great Britain.
Mr. Wethered’s drive went straight down the course. So did Perkins’s. But Perkins won the first hole and was never down. Several holes were halved, as when Mr. Wethered drove onto a railroad track and Perkins missed a one-yard putt, but in the afternoon on the fourteenth hole it was Mr. Wethered who missed the yard putt, giving Perkins the hole, the match, and the amateur championship. All the U. S. players had been put out in the early rounds.
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