ON THE LINKS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 16, 31 October 1935, Page 7

ON THE LINKS

MID-CANTERBURY TOURNAMENT.

GRAND STRUGGLE IN THE SENIOR (By “Silver King”) The Mid-Canterbury amateur golf tournament conducted by the Ashburton Club last week-end was a successful one. The best golf w T as shown by 11. G. McGregor and V. W. Russell in the senior championship, played on Labour Day.

These two players in the first round had done 72 and 74 respectively. They happened to* be playing in the same four, so elements of match play—the more or less tense atmosphere of match play —were present. It was a grand struggle. When the players stepped on to the last tee for the 36th liole—the final one—Russell was one stroke to the good on the day. lie made an excellent drive down the fairway, but McGregor pulled his on to a neighbouring fairway. He made a wonderful recovery, placing his second near# the ditch in front of the green. Russell’s second was over the ditch but not on the green. McGregor placed his third well on the green, handy for a likely four. \ At this stage one of the other players in the four played from off tho green,and struck McGregor’s ball, moving it a few inches. By the rules of golf the ball must be replaced on the spot from which it was mov.ed. The penalty for not doing so is disqualification. Probably owing to the tense game the replacement was omitted, and McGregor holed his four, Russell in the meantime taking six, giving him a score of one more than his opponent. However, as a rule of golf involving disqualification had been broken, the Match Cqmmittee had no option but to disqualify McGregor. This was an unfortunate ending to an otherwise pleasant tournament.

A Croat Disappointment. This incident showed definitely that spectators, players and even some club officials are somewhat hazy in the knowledge of the rules which control the game. After McGregor had staged his wonderful recovery at the final hole of the game it was a great disappointment to everyone that the fruits of it could not be plucked. However, golf is a game in which sentiment plays no part, the rules being hard and fast. I. feel certain that club members will now know the replacement rule as it is applies to stroke play. In match play, of course, the player lias the option of replacing his ball. The rule reads as follows: “Stroke Rule 9—Ball striking o; moved by another player: If a competi tor’s ball strike or be stopped by another player, or his clubs, or his caddie, it is a ‘rub of the green,’, and the ball shall be played from where it Ties. If a competitor’s ball which is at rest be accidentally moved by another competitor. or his caddie, or his clubs, and his ball, or any outside agency except wind, a ball shall be placed as near as possible to the spot where it lay. Pen-alty-disqualification.” _ . G. d’Auvergne, who won the junior title, played two good rounds' of 80 each and J. W. Keig, with cards of 81 and 80 was runner-up. T. W. R. Gudsell, with a 78 in the first round, struck a had patch in the first nine holes in the afternoon, taking 48. He staged a sensational recovery in the final nine holes, coming home in 36. This an excellent performance. He finished two strokes behind d’Auvergne. * In the fourball bogey on Saturday afternoon, Keig and D. Denham won with an excellent card of 6 up. The (restriction of the entry to r2 players made conditions on the links much less congested than was the case last year, when over 100 players took part. Unfortunate Scoring Mistake.

Mr J. B. Walker and J. C. Quest and Miss Marrie and A. V. Rae tied on August 30 in the amateur foursomes championships at Melbourne. It was not a satisfactory day, as some could not finish owing to darkness, and one pair, Mrs Greenlees and Captain Dalrymplc, were disqualified. The course was very heavy and this affected the scoring. Quest and Mrs Walker started off well with a 79, and there were so many others within striking distance that a close finish seemed likely. And so it proved, but there were incidents during the afternoon which rather detracted from the pleasure of the outing. Miss Pam Barton and her partner and Miss Tolhurst and H. R. Sclilapp hit off before the starter gave permission and before they received their official cards. Later when the cards were handed in they were subject of a committee discussion but were admitted. Then later in the day Captain Dal-l-ymple and Mrs Greenlees were disqualified and their great double round went for nothing. On the last green they even went so far as to call their figures, but apparently the occasion was too much for all concerned, for Sloan Morpeth who marked the card made it a 78 instead of a 79. The mistake was not discovered until the card was on the board. The 78 would have made them level with the other pairs at 161. The 79 would have left them as runners-up but under the rules of golf they had to be disqualified. It was bad luck and was more keenly felt in that one of the British visitors was concerned. Hole-in-One Tourney.

A production of the widespread search for novelty in sport, the holc-in-one golf tournament, is becoming increasingly popular in America. One tournament attracted 164 players, the best shot recorded being one which finished up 8-Jin from the pin of a hole of 148 yards. Joe Ezar,, the professional from Texas who visited New Zealand and Australia last year, landed two shots inside the 10ft circle. One rebounded into a hunker, while another who had flown to the tournament, attacked the pin unsuccessfully from the air. '