BRITAIN IN LEAD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 243, 14 October 1935, Page 9

BRITAIN IN LEAD.

WOMEN GOLFERS. FIRST MATCH IN AUCKLAND. NORTH ISLAND OPPONENTS. A gallery of 600 people assembled at Middlcmore this morning to witness the contest between the British ladies' golf team and a side picked from the North Island. Anticipations of an impressive ' display by the visitors were fully rea- ' liscd, and though a strong westerly wind i" made the conditions difficult the British - ladies proved their superiority in their greater power and better stroke 1 ability. 1 With the exception of three holes the c fifth, twelfth and eighteenth, the men's tees wero used and this contributed to j the interesting exhibition. The extra - distance did not trouble the visitors and 1 at the first hole, against the wind, they . immediately showed the range of their r shots by reaching the green comfor- ; tably in two shots. \ Similarly at the dog-leg fifth both c British sides in the foursomes, which , were played this morning, easily reached , the green in two; generally it was their 1 ability to hit the ball hard and true . which decided the two matches in their, : favour. Miss Pam Barton, twice runner-up in ) the British ladies' open championship, did not play in the foursomes, but rcpro- _ sented her team in the singles this afternoon. Of the North Island side \ the best display was given by the young ! Wanganui player, Miss Helcan, and she J was the only one of the side that had tlio power, and accuracy with it, that characterises the play of the visitors. : Miss Barns Graham, Poverty Bay, did I not reveal her true form, while Mrs. Barker, of Rotorua, found the conditions ' difficult and was easily outranged from ' the tees, thus putting more responsibility on her partner, Mrs. Dcighton, of ; Titirangi. The latter, apart from some mistakes,on the green in the early part of the game, played fairly well in coni- ■ parison with licr rivals. The results of the foursome play was ' as follow:— Mrs. J. B. Walker and Miss J. Anderson (Great Britain) beat Miss W. Barns , Graham and Miss P. Ilelean, 5 and 4. [ Mrs. W. Grecnlees and Miss P. Wade ■ (Great Britain) beat Mrs. R. S. Dcighton and Mrs. E. L. Barker, 3 and 1. Miss Anderson's Putting. The contest between Mrs. Walker and Miss Anderson, and Miss Barns Graham and Miss Ilelean was even enough to ' the turn for, after the visitors had got ■ a 3-up lead 111 the first five holes the North Island pair reduced it to 1 at the ninth. From then 011 the British team • were superior and won four of the five holes which were played before the match finished 011 the fourteenth green. The deciding feature was a sequence of excellent putts by Miss Anderson. She holed a 20-footer at the twelfth to win the hole in 4, and then found the cup with a four-yarder at the thirteenth for a 3 after she had driven the bunker. Miss Barns Graham, however, replied with a similar putt to get the half at this hole. At the fourteenth, after her | partner had run in a well-judged third, Miss Anderson capped it off by holing a five-footer for the 4. In the earlier play good putting gave the visitors tliff tenth hole in 3, to make them 2 up. They were not troubled at tlio next, as their opponents were in trouble after the tee shot. In the first nine holes the visitors took the first with a perfect four and increased their lead to 2 at the third with a birdie 3. The next hole saw botli sides make mistakes and a half resulted. Botli sides got the green in 2 at the fifth, but Miss Helcan failed to cap this off when she missed a very short putt. The other pair got the 4 and were 3 up. The North Island side won their first hole at the seventh in 3 and an excellent recovery from the bunker by Miss Helean at the next brought a half in 4. The North Island side won their second and last hole at the ninth, which they played well for the 5. Finished At Seventeenth. Three putts 011 the first green robbed Mrs. Grecnlees and Miss Wade of a win in 4, but they took the lead at the third with a 5 when their opponents three putted, and increased it to 2 up with another 5 at the fourth. The visitors had a lapse again 011 the fifth green after being 011 in 2 and North Island got a half in 5 after recovering from the donga. Though Miss Wade s drive at the sixth drifted to the Tamaki a half in 5 resulted, the North Island pair failing to get down in 2 from tlio edge of the green. Getting their 3at tlio short seventh the visitors were 3 up. Neither side could get the bogey figures at the next two holes and they were halved. Coming home Mrs. Grecnlees holed a long putt 011 the tenth for the 3, but Mrs. Barker was equal to a six-footer for a half. When the visitors made mistakes at the next three holes they lost them all though the winning figures were one over the orthodox in every case. This squared the game. Mrs. Deighton drove an equally long ball as Miss Wade at tlio fifteenth, but Mrs. Greenlees' iron to the green ensured a win in 4 and the visitors were lup again. This they increased to 2 up with a 5 at the next, Mrs. Barker being outdriven and leaving ill's. Deighton a long second from the donga, which she played spectacularly. Mrs. Deighton had bad luck to catch the fairway bunker 011 the full at the seventeenth, and the end came when she unfortunately committed a breach in the bunker round the green, though the visitors were fairly sure of a win in any case.