ON THE LINKS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 261, 3 November 1932, Page 17

ON THE LINKS.

THE CLUB CHAMPIONS. YOUTH WINS AT MIDDLEMORE. LAPSES IN THE ALL-CHAMPIONS EVENT. (By RUBBERCORE.) Middlemore's final completed what after •11 was a championship of surprises, yet there can be no gainsaying the fact that R. D. Horton won his matches convincingly. His sound defeat of H. Plumley first drew real attention to the \ part he ■was likely to play, and in having gone from success to success, he justifies the honour of title-holder. Against Donald he commenced well, and there can be no doubt that this played a large part in his ■win. Viewed from the .point of stroke play, the golf of each over the opening nine holes was not inspiring and. it was really riot till Horton had'his run of fours homeward that the match sparkled. He did, however, hole a number of telling putts—and such do-tell. The. crisis of the game occurred from the seventh to the ninth holes in the afternoon, where good putting and a clever recovery by Horton practically settled the issue. Summed up, the result was really a triumph for Horton's green work, as no eooner did Donald make up leeway, or go to the attack than Horton retaliated. Donald, on the other hand, did not experience much luck on the greens, as on a number of occasions likely-looking putts veered away from the hole. Horton's win carries the suggestion that a younger school is gradually forcing its way to the front, an aspect, I think, that the older hands , will welcome. Abel's Sound Putting. . In the intermediate final H. Abel's flying start suggested that he would have a big win at the expense- of the veteran, A. M. Howden. The letter's splendid run of six holes in a row, however, put an entirely different complexion on the game, but it was a dying effort, as Abel again returned to the attack. The run was typical of Howden's fighting qualities— We have seen it many times before, both on the links and cricket field. As was the case with the senior title, putting played the all-important part in Abel's ■Win. He has had the benefit of hard experience where putting counts for much, and has developed this part of his game to a sound standard. It was a match well yon, and each is to be congratulated on his showing. A Promising Junior. On his form in the tournament held the previous week at Middlemore, W. B. Souter appeared the likely junior holder, and his 84 of the morning round bore out this prediction. It is not to be forgotten, however, that R. G. Sellar was only 4 down at lunch, which was evidence-of a fine defence. The afternoon, however, saw Souter again sailing merrily-on his way, and he capped an excellent performance in •winning at the twenty-ninth hole. Souter displays distinct promise, aiid, moreover, seems to have a natural temperament for the game. Sellar may feel that his record in. reaching the final was excellent, and equally may view it that the fates were against him in having run up against so (solid an, .opponent in. the deciding. jnatch> .

Champion of Champions Test. The annual champion of champions test was not productive of good golf, even the winning total .being considerably above what might have been expected. Some measure of excuse could be found in the gale which blew, but though the course was open to the full force of it, it is to be remembered that at most only one hole was out of .range of the second shot. Failure to score well could be, put down to the old weakness of copiiig with the demands of sustained medal play which, after all, offers one of, if not the truest, tests of-the game.. ; The outstanding round was the afternoon score of 75 by J. Swanson, the Akarana representative, as, apart from displaying commendable aptitude to control his shots in the wind, he approached and putted excellently. His total of putts was, I think, 28, which, considering the slippery surface of the greens, was full of merit. He may look back on this performance with satisfaction, it having been a matter for regret that, his morning score left so good* an effort unrewarded. Little " Mac," of .Pupuke, made a game bid throughout, his slump in the middle stages having been more or. less due to straining to 'overtake figures which he knew had v already been returned. He recovered quite.well, however, a fine 4 at the difficult sixteenth .being a meritorious effort in the concluding stages. E. Hutchison, of Glendowie, also hung on well, and was one of the possibilities till a couple of bad holes crept into his card toward the end, He may well feel encouraged at his showing. C.-E. Howden also at one time threatened the leader, but in the afternoon unaccountably lost his putting touch. He is partial to fast greens, and in the morning round made up considerable leeway with his putting. The Howden .family has experienced a successful season, as Peter won the Otago University championship/ having holed a birdie in a tight finish on the last green, while his sister accounted.for the Wamku ladies' title. If I am not mistaken the " doctor " recently holed out in one, and then we have his brother, A. M. Howden, fighting out Middlemore's intermediate title on Saturday—but more of that later. Middlemore's Title-holder Fails. Middlemore's representative, R. DHorton, appeared to be suffering from his championship game of the previous day,having at no stage appeared a dangerous contender at One Tree Hill. In fact, many of his mashie and iron shots were hit from the vicinity of the shank, of his club, and his effort appeared one of the morning after the night ■ before. In considering his win at Middlemore, probably over-jubila-tion did not help his prospects at Maungakiekie." One saw enough of his game, however, to perceive that it has possibilities, as his tee shots and green work are uniformly ' sound. In view of the abruptness, of his upswing with his irons it would appear essential that he should keep his weight well back, or hang back on his right • foot to the last moment, if he is to keep his shot under control. Other Good 'Uns Off Form. Titirangi's representative, R. R. McCrystal, simply had a day off, his putting in particular having been at times lamentably weak. Following his cricket score for the opening nine holes, I fear he rather set out to enjoy the day, and_thereafter played little. serious golf. He is, however, mueh too sound a stylist for any notice to be taken of his scores in the event under review, though it is prejudicial to his game to , have finished with so poor a total. Still, he was not.the only one poking his putts, much as the small boy with the stick and the frog in the pond. L J. Croxeon did not do himself justice at any stage—neither in practice rounds nor in the ultimate test. He has only recently taken up the game after a respite fora geasoa Q5-ffiu and, &as not jfct recovered,

the form that made him champion three years ago. He needs more play if he is to recover his finesse. Of the others, F. Layzell of the North Shore Club had the steadiest rounds, but, as was the case with Horton, had not previously played over the course, so that' he could scarcely hope- to do well. C. Wardell, " Big Mae," and J. L. McCoy were the others to finish towards the' tail of the field. McLean did not play nearly so well as in the South Auckland fixure at Hamilton, but, as ■ was the case with his compatriots, lost nothing in having battled it out to the end. ■ Maungakiekie Juniors. Of other events of the week-end, the Maungakiekie Club's junior final between L. B. Schnauer and D. E. Coutts gave rise to a really good match. Coutts secured the early actvantage, but Schnauer had wiped out his deficit and got a lead of 2 holes at the ninth, following very steady golf. By the time the fifteenth was reached he had increased his lead to 4 holes, but a fine burst gave Coutts the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth holes, to finish only 1 down at the completion of the morning round. Schnauer again went away from his opponent in the afternoon, and, playing steadily and well, finished the match "4 and 3 with a safely played 5 at the fifteenth. Schnauer has had a successful seasonj and, moreover, lias played steady golf. His game holds much promise.' , . Coutts is'to be commended on the showing he made—an excellent one in view of his limited experience of serious match play.

AUCKLAND CLUB.

The annual teams match between members of the Auckland and Auckland Ladies' Golf Clubs was played at Middlemore yesterday. The ladles received a handicap of six strokes, but were beaten by the men by eight games to four. Results: —R. l>. Horton lost to Miss Culling, 5 and 3; W. S.; Ralph beat Miss Upton. 5 and 4; H. B. Lusk beat Miss Rathbone, 2 and 1; .1. MacEwan beat Mrs. Rutherford, 8 and.6; W. N. Abbott beat Miss MacCormick, 4 and 3; R. G. Rainßer lost to Mrs. Buttle, 1 up; L. W. Delph beat Mrs. Wilson, 1 up; W. B. Colbeck beat Mrs. Robertson, 5 and 4 • E. B. Browne lost to Miss Cooper, 4 and 3: G H. Abel beat Mrs. Huches, 3 and 1: A. M. Howden lost to Miss Moginie, 2 and 1; A. E. M. Rhind beat Mrs. Roberton, & and 1. .

MAUNGAKIEKIE LADIES' CLUB.

Result of a flaj? match pinyea 4>y, numbers of the Maungakiekie Ladies' Golf Club ye Senio'rs.—Miss M. Miller placed the flag on the 19.th fairway. . Juniors. —Miss M. Robson placed the flog on the 19th preen." " . The Mary Sclitoauer Memorial Cup was won by Mrs. J. Jerrat,' whose two best rounds out of three were 70 and 72, a total of 142. - _, ■ The club will close the season on Wednesday next with a- medal handicap match and a consolation match played in con-, junction, for trophies presented by Mrs. L. Goldwater, play to commence at 9 o'clock, competitors to choose their partners. The annual general meeting will take place at 2.30 p.m., followed by the presentation of prizes.

GLENDOWIE CLUB.

The first round of a 36-holes four-ball bogey handicap competition will be played by members of the'Glendowie Golf-Club on Saturday, players to choose their partners and opponents.

MANUKAU CLUB.

The Manukau Golf Club intends to hold an amateur tournament on Saturday next. The events -will be: —Gross medal handicap over 36 holes, morning medal over 18 holes, and afternoon bogey over 18 holes. Thiswill "mark the end of the winter 1 - lpetttip_n%, . ..._...

AKARANA CLUB. The Akarana Golf Club -vlll conclude its winter season on Saturday with a Canadian mixed foursomes match, commencing at 11 a.m. Tlnyers inay choose their partners and opponents. During tlie afternoon an approaching and putting and long driving competition will be held, fl nishing up with the presentaton of trophies. •