skill that for Roberts to give them a start of nearly half the game was impossible. The inference that was made was that these players could play against Roberts as well as they played against each other. In nine cases out of ten no greater mistake could be made. You play against a great and strong player—he does not interfere with you, there is nothing to prevent your making the same breaks as last week you made when playing against Snooks, but as a matter of fact you do not make these breaks, and you seem unable to play at the top of your game when playing the great player. It is the same of golf. Vardon wins nearly every match he plays, not only because he plays better than any of his rivals, but also because everybody, or practically everybody, feels something within him which tells him that Vardon cannot be beaten, and this feeling has a blighting effect, and though Vardon may not be playing at the top of his game, still he wins; whilst Roberts has the same effect on his opponents at billiards. Everybody, no matter what game is played, knows how he feels when pitted against certain strong players. It is one aspect of how
