ON THE LINKS.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 26, 1 February 1928, Page 15

ON THE LINKS.

THE KIRK TOURNEY.

JUSTIFICATION OF ROSS.

SOME INTERESTING MATCHES,

As a forerunner to tlie final selection for the Kirk-Windeyer team, the Miramar tournament aroused great interest, practically the cream of Dominion golfing talent being assembled. The presence of the New South Wales representatives gave the event a more important aspect, three of the visitors entei"ing the list as qualified. The opening stages were marked by only fair dis° plays, the exception being Morpeth's round of 70, which fully reflected the brilliance of which he is capable. To the majority of those who saw him play against the Australians at Middlemore his subsequent brilliance may have been unexpected, but those conversant with his temperamental aspect were not unprepared for anything he might do. Nice scoring of 78 and 75 cliareterised W. A. Dobson's efforts, the Concord man being at his best. His excellent control of the ball would prove invaluable in the hard conditions, and it is a pity lie was not able to play further in the tournament, for as a match player, particularly, he is always to be feared. Although rated highly in his State, it is singular that ho should be considered a 'better player on New Zealand courses. The brothers 11. A. and J. L. Black, as was anticipated, lived up to their reputation as medal players, the youthfnl H. A. 'in particular scoring very evenly with rounds of 78 and 77. T. H. Horton did not apparently find his feet till the afternoon, when the faultless golf of

which lie is capable was reflected in the 75 returned by him. After quite a spell of exasperating golf, Captain Conway was also in brilliant strain, as his morning round of 75, which comprised no less than six threes, suggested. Conway is most methodical, being most assiduous in practice, his irons being a strong feature of liig game. Although safe, Dr. Ross' opening scores presented little to enthuse over, as was the ease with A. D. S. Duncan, whose 82 and 78 placed him ninth on the list. L. Seifert, jun., a sturdy youth who hails from the Manawatu Club, acquitted himself creditably, as did also H. P. Dale, of Eltham, who appears to find much time to devote to the game.

Nigel Smith and W. R. Smith, of the official Xew South Wales team, were required to do their utmost to get in, and in the case of the latter, who was runner-up to Eric Apperley for his State title, failure to qualify appeared imminent. H. B. Lusk also was bordering on failure, as was Alec Sime, but finally a margin of one stroke assured their place with the select. Failure to qualify was written down against Jack Goss, but the fortunate withdrawal of Dobson gave him an opportunity, which, however, was short-lived; as Morpeth squashed his prospects in the succeeding match play. The disappointment of the qualifying test was the failure of the dapper Lee Brown, champion of the Royal Sydney Club, to gain admittance to the match play stage. There can be no doubt of his proficiency; fife is a first-class player, and it is regrettable that we are destined to see comparatively little of him. To see the second string for Xew Zealand eliminated in the first round would occasion surprise were it not that his opponent was "Wally" Smith, who all will recognise as the toughest of match players. I am not definitely conversant with Horton's form, but as he was

simply "golfed out" after his Australian and New Zealand championship efforts it is highly probable he has not returned to the pinnacle of his form.

The appearance and success of Arthur Duncan in the first round was in contradiction to his reported withdrawal, and the tune of 6 up and 5 left no doubt as to his superiority over Nigel Smith, who opposed him. Both Blacks met their Waterloo in this round, H. B. Lusk defeating the elder brother, while Sime accounted for the younger. Generally Sime seems to meet J. L. Black, on whom he has a genuine Indian sign, and which he now appears to have made common to the family. Donald Grant quickly got the upper hand of Captain Conway, the match finishing at the 13th in somewhat of a rout, a condition which beset H. A. Shanks in his game with Dr. Ross. Two tough juveniles in Dale and Seifert fought all the way to the home green, and as both putt with the abandon of youth the game should have been of unusual interest. Morpeth's crushing defeat of Duncan gave hopeful indications of his ultimate success, but after perusing the account of his game with Grant, by whom he was defeated, it is evident he was suffering from reaction after his wonderful scoring of the previous two days. He has only recently returned to serious play, and the errors committed by him in this game leave little room for doubt that he simply had an off day, which is so liable to follow a sustained effort such as he had made.

Thero was nothing between Sime and Dr. Ross, although in both cases in which they have met in championships in recent years Ross has fought stubbornly to a successful finish. Sime is a great match player, and on his past record and performance against Ross should, I consider, have stood at least an equal chance with Grant for selection to represent New Zealand in the Kirk-Windeyer Cup series. In a match in which solid play was interspersed with lapses, Ross asserted his superiority over Grant in the final. From accounts the result was

ui favour of the better player. In making Ross a certainty for the Cup team it demonstrated that his selection, last year was justified, and should silence criticism that has passed as to his eligibility.