MARATHON GOLF.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 267, 10 November 1932, Page 17

MARATHON GOLF.

N.Z. AMATEUR TITLE. THREE MATCHES GO OVER THE REGULATION LIMIT. BASIL SMITH'S GREAT EFFORT. (Isy Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday. Conditions for the New Zealand golf championship tournament to-day were ideal. It was an off-day for the professionals, and only the third round of the amateur event was played. Wagg had no difficulty In disposing of Silk. J. L. Black, who was square with Reilly in the morning, turned on great golf to overwhelm him in the afternoon. Black was one over threes at the sixth and four under fours at the 11th hole, where lie won, 8 and 7. No one could have withstood Black's onslaught. Three matches provided great finishes. The Ross-Sime encounter was a marathon destined to be historic in the records of the tournament. Duncan suffered a lapse, and had to turn on his most brilliant self to dispose of young Basil Smith, and Cook turned the tables on Goss id the last stages. Goss set out in the afternoon 4 up, and kept in front to the 14th. Cook then turned on 3, 3, 3, 4 to square at the ISth, and by a fine three at the extra hole (the thirty-seventh of the match) he outed Goss to meet Horton to-morrow. Going out in the afternoon 3 up, Duncan had increased his hold on the game to 5 up at the eighth. Playing good golf, Smith now steadied up. Duncan fell away, and through various lapses, conjoined with Smith's improved form, lost all his advantage, ancl the match was square at the 16th, which Smith halved with a pitch over Duncan's ball after stymying himself close to the cup. Going to the 17th Duncan's drive was in the rough, and his second in the bunker to the left of the green. Smith was nicely on. Duncan's chip out was fifteen feet away, but he holed the putt to halve in four. Both were short with their seconds to the 18th. Both pitched up too strong, and a half resulted in fives. The match was thus square at the 36th hole. The 37th and 38th were great holes, the first being halved in three, and Duncan winning the second with the same figure. Both were on the first with their seconds, Duncan fifteen feet short of the pin and Smith twenty feet past. Smith's ball hesitated on the lip but fell in. Duncan also holed. Smith had no chance at the next, Duncan follow-

ing up two fine shots to the green (404 yds away) by sending down another great | putt. Smith had the of I having his colours lowered by Duncan at his best. The Ross-Sime match provided wonderful golf. Ross set out in the afternoon 2 up. Sime squared at the seventh, and was 2 up at the ninth, partly due to Ross' putting lapses, but mainly by his own brilliance. He went to 3 up at the 10th by a brilliant chip, which found the cup from the bunker for a three. Ross won the 11th, where Sime's second failed to find the green. A magnificent iron to the pin gave Ross the following hole, a magnificent three. The 13th was halved in fives, the 14th in threes, the 15th in fours, both missing short putts. Ross squared the match at the 16th, where Sime's drive was bunkered. The last two were halved in regulation figures. Four extra holes were required to decide the issue. The first was halved in bogey fouf, the second in fives (bogey is four). Both tee shots at the short third were too strong. Sime sank an eight-footer for a half in three at the fourth. Both seconds were again short at the final hole. The approaches were good, but Sime missed a five-foot putt and Ross holed in four, ending a classic struggle. Summary of scores:— R. Wagg (1931 champion) beat B. M. Silk, 9 and 7. J. B. Parker beat D. 0. Whyte, 1 up. Dr. K. Ross beat A. G. Sime (1921 champion), at the 40th. A. D. S. Duncan (ten times amateur and three times open champion) beat B. J. Smith, jun. (Akarana), at the 38th. W. K. Cook beat J. Goss (1923 champion), at the 37tli. T. H. Horton (1925 and 1928 champion) beat H. A. Black (1930 champion), 3 and 2. J. L. Black beat W. B. Reilly, 8 and 7. D. C. Collins beat F. C. Fryer, 6 and 5. The amateur bogey handicap was won by W. E. C. Gregory, 3 up. P. W. Blundell was successful in the second bogey match (1 up), in which A. H. Warren and V. A. Ward returned cards showing all square.