Charles The First: N.Z.'s King Of Golf

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31256, 31 December 1966, Page 15

Charles The First: N.Z.'s King Of Golf

VOR the average golfer, the birdie putt which drops is often the highlight of the round, of the month, perhaps of the year. In the last two months, the New Zealand left-hander R. J. Charles scored the equivalent of 83 birdies in his 576 holes during the four-match series with Arnold Palmer and the seven tournaments on the New Zealand professional circuit. Charles had some eagles, many birdies, hundreds of pars, and at a few holes was over the card; but when it was all added up, he was 83 under for his 32 rounds in New Zealand.

A sad round at Miramar, against Palmer, of five over made Charles six under for the four matches with tbe

great American; in the 28 rounds of the professional tournaments he was 77 better than the card. It was an extraordinary performance, even for a man of Charles's outstanding calibre. He was 26 shots beter than K. D. G. Nagle, one of the golf greats, and 34 ahead of G. B. Wolstenholme of Britain, who also played the complete circuit and was third, behind Charles and Nagle, in the prize-winning list for the circuit.

No sport has boomed in New Zealand quite as spectacularly as golf has done in the las; few years. And Charles’s feats have been against far stronger opposition than New Zealand golf administrators ever dreamed

of, a few years ago. This year Nagle played in all the tournaments, P. W. Thomson in four of the seven; there were M. Roesink and A. van Pinxten of Holland; Wolstenholme, C. A. Clark and A. Jacklin, three of Britain’s best; and a whole host of talented golfers from Australia, which seems to throw up top performers in sport each year.

Against Palmer, one of the most successful golfers of all time, Charles was superb. At Balmacewen, in the first match of the series, he was six under par with 66 and led by six strokes. At Shirley Charles had a 65 five under —and increased his lead to nine. He lost five of the strokes at Miramar, but with 71, was four better than Palmer at Middlemore, and thus won the series by eight strokes.

Perhaps the greatest of Charles's many spectacular achievements was his victory in the fiftieth New Zealand Open at Paraparaumu Beach. To win this event was success; to lead the field by 13 strokes, and to have a score of 273, 19 under par, was triumph. Charles had rounds of 67, 71, 65 and 70, on New Zealand’s most testing course. That tournament alone offered a measure of his stature. But he went on to win the Wattle's tournament at Hastings with 67, 66, 69 and an astonishing 63 —265 in all, 15 under par, and a margin at the end of six strokes. In the final round, he had seven successive birdies. At Russley in the Wills, at Titirangi in the 8.P., he finished eighth but for these two tournaments was four under the card. In the Metalcraft tournament at Hamilton, he was all brilliance again—he won by three strokes, with rounds of 73, 69, 66, 65, a total of 263, 15 under par. Then came the Tokaroa tournament and Charles finished first equal with Jacklin. He was 72 in the first round, and that was par. In the others, his scores were 68, 66 and 66; 272, and 16 under par. In the Caltex, Charles could do no better than sixth, although he was eight under the card for the tournament A golfer with the unthinkable skill and luck to win all seven of the New Zealand tournaments would have had gross winnings of £2660; that Charles could win £l6OO of this stake was incredible. Charles has, in his years as a professional, proved himself by far the best golfer New Zealand has produced. The events 1966 suggest that his long driving, accurate irons a superb putting touch wui bring him many more triumphs in the years ahe