Freyberg Golfers Will Be On Trial

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31018, 25 March 1966, Page 15

Freyberg Golfers Will Be On Trial

(By

R. T. Brittenden

The increasing strength of Canterbury golf is reflected in the entry for the provincial stroke championship which will be played over 72 holes at Russley tomorrow and on Sunday.

There are 17 players on scratch or on a handicap of 1, and the full senior field, limited to players with handicaps of 4 or better, numbers 35.

There will be particular interest in this championship, because it is the last major event, save for the Easter tournament at Shirley, before the Canterbury team is named for the defence of the Freyberg Rose Bowl at the Grange club in Auckland on May 12. With the return of R. C. Murray to Otago, and the loss of K. D. Foxton to professional golf, Canterbury’s strength has been sapped quite considerably. But there is a rising tide of proficient young players and from it Canterbury should field a team which will acquit itself well at Auckland. CALDWELL OUT It is unfortunate, however, that C. W. Caldwell will not be available to lead the side. Business commitments will not allow him time to devote himself fully to his golf and Caldwell, wisely, has decided that he should not present himself as a candidate because he will not be able to play and practise with the devotion demanded by this tournament.

Canterbury will miss him: less than a year ago he gave the national champion, J. D. Durry, a thorough trouncing in the Canterbury-Wellington match.

All the other candidates for inclusion in the Rose Bowl team are in the field for Russley. The four scratch

■ players are D. R. Hope, J. R. Broadhurst, R. E. Clements and W. I. Tucker. Clements is a likely Canterbury captain, Hope played with success last season, and Broadhurst, of all local golfers, has been in the best form in recent weeks, with several successes in open tournaments. IMPROVED PROSPECTS Tucker has not been a strong candidate for Canterbury top teams in the last year or two, but the very fact that he has won his way to a scratch mark considerably enhances his prospects. There are 13 players on 1 at Russley, with E. H. M. Richards, the national amateur runner-up, R. K. Atkinson, and A. W. Robinson among them. Richards and Robinson have played Freyberg Rose Bowl golf in previous years, and Atkinson, a solid if seldom spectacular golfer, may win a ptace at last. In inter-dub Woodward Cup matches Atkinson has an especially fine record, having lost only four of his last 30 cup matches.

Also among the 1-handicap-pers are the long-hitting J. A. Orr, who has been regarded as a Freyberg candidate for the last year or two, J. F. Logie, who played particularly well in the last national amateur at Miramar, the solid Russley player, A. T. Baxendine, and the veteran M. W. Stanley’, who may find more time for golf this year than for some time.

P. J. Amos, out of form recently could come into consideration, and so could B. L. Clegg, who strikes ball beautifully quite regularly, but who has yet to round off his game and become a leading Canterbury amateur. AUCKLAND NEWCOMER Of the seven players on 2, the most interesting is probably a newcomer from Auckland, P. K. Cleland. Only 17 years old, Cleland appears to have a fine future. There are 11 more players on 3 and 4, and of them the one with most appeal is the former Otago and Canterbury representative, B. A. Colquhoun. His golf has been interrupted in recent years by business, but if he can apply himself to the game this year he could well win a ptace. At his best, Colquhoun is a sound player with a remarkably fine touch on the greens.

On April 2 and 3 the Waimairi Open will be played, and the Easter tournament at Shirley is on April 9, 10 and 11. Two rounds of inter-club matches will be played on April 17.

These are decisive days in the selection of the team. At present, the most likely composition seems to be Clements, Richards, Hope, Atkinson, Broadhurst and Colquhoun, with Logie, Orr, Tucker and perhaps Robinson next in line.

Whatever happens, Canterbury should not. be disgraced in its defence of the Rose Bowl.