LONG HITTING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 229, 28 September 1938, Page 19

LONG HITTING.

YOUNG AT TITIRANGI.

DAVIDGE PLATS BRILLIANTLY Playing an excellent long game—he reached all the bogey five holes in two —- J. H. Young offset J. M. Coltman's solid green work in winning this match at the sixteenth m the first round of the Titirangi championship!

Coltman has made a spectacular re-entry to the championship arena, as prior to the qualifying rounds he had not touched a for months. His swing retains its smoothness, but it was asking much of him to emerge and encounter Young in his best form. It was an excellent performance, as he allowed Young little respite-. J. V. Lane, in defeating E. M. Ohlson, quickly assumed a commanding lead of Jour holes, and though ObJson reduced the gap be had to accept defeat 'at tne seventeenth.

R. R. Mo Cry stall, also opposed by one of the younger school, had his hands very full in disposing of B. T. Laycock at the eighteenth. Laycock's game is. prone to be unsteady, but on days when'things go well is liable to beat anybody.

In devastating form, he was out 5n 34, W. J. Davidge ran up a big lead from R. B. Hardy. One up< at the fifth Davidge played the succeeding holes in 4, 2, 3, which was more than Hardy could cope with. Ditvklge's round was in the low seventies, so tbat he gave his opponent no opportunities for recovery.

N. A. Naiunith'g defeat of A. Harvey wag unexpected, but Harvey was not in the good form of other rounds this season. Xaismitb played steadily for 38 outward, and in the concluding stages traded shot for shot with Harvey when the pressure was on. It was a atout-hearted performance.

H. 11. Robaon and M. Fraser-Smith retained their places comfortably enough, and Robson, now that the ground is hardening up, is likely to offer a spirited defence of his title. His golf has the great virtue of direction, which on a fast course mean* much.

C. 8. Woods, also something of a fairway king, though completely qutdistanced by V. L. Humphreys, won through by downing putts at the critical stage. Two up at the twelfth, Humphreys fell' into error at the Wrecker and then lost the short fourteenth to a3 by Woods. Woods again holed good putts at the sixteenth and seventeenth, and at the eighteenth stood 1 up. A prodigious drive by Humphreys paved the way for the squaring of the match, but at the nineteenth, after another splendid tee shot, he three-putted, -jrhicli meant the end. Woods, however, is playing pretty well, his putting being a particularly strong feature of his game.