PETER THOMSON WINS

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27471, 4 October 1954, Page 9

PETER THOMSON WINS

Fallon Beaten In Professional Title

THRILLING FINISH AT ST. ANDREWS

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON, October 2. Peter Thomson, the brilliant 25-year-old Australian golfer, brought off the classic double of winning the British open and professional match play titles in the same year, when he beat Johnny Fallon, Huddersfield, the Yorkshire title-holder, at the thirty-eighth hole in the match play championship final at St. Andrews today. Only the late James Braid (1905) and Fred Daly (1947) have previously achieved the feat.

Thomson also became the first overseas player to win the match-play title in 51 years of the event, and completed a tremendous season for Australian golfers, who have now won the open and amateur titles at the Commonwealth amateur tournament, and World Canada Cup. It was not only one of the longest finals of the event—and the most exciting—but it was featured by some of the greatest and most courageous golf. While Thomson must be given every credit for his great play—he was three under fours for the whole match—it was the 41-year-old Scottish-born Johnny Fallon who really stole the honours of the eighthour contest.

Fallon was three down after five holes and four down at the ninth to Thomson’s two under par, 34. But from that point he fought with wonderful courage and skill. He did the last nine holes in a brilliant 32, against Thomson’s 35, to reduce his deficit to two holes, and continued to carry the attack to his apparently unshaken rival until he holed an impossible-looking 10-yarder for a birdie three, to draw level at the thirty-fourth. The crowd rose to him and amid tremendous excitement ran down the course to follow every stroke of the final phases. Both played grand iron seconds on to the green of the famous road hole—the thirty-fifth of the match—and both gallantly putted dead for a half. On the thirty-sixth green it seemed for a moment that Fallon would win, but his six-yard putt struck the side of the hole and slithered just beyond. Thomson had to play a delicate run up from just beyond the thirty-seventh green to get a half in four, and then came the finish. Fallon hit a fine drive equal in distance to that of the longhitting Thomson, but he pulled his second slightly and the ball ran off the rising approach to the green info a bunker. A much-relieved Thomson hit his second safely home and though Fallon recovered well his putt of five feet failed to drop. A great match was over.