D. R. Hope Wins Second Canterbury Golf Title

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31375, 22 May 1967, Page 13

D. R. Hope Wins Second Canterbury Golf Title

(By

R. T. BRITTENDEN

Steadiness born of experience took D. R. Hope to his second Canterbury under-21 golf title at Avondale on Saturday, but only after he had resisted strong challenges from B. C. Taylor and P. K. Cleland. One under the card in die morning, one over in the afternoon, Hope’s 140 gave him a margin of two strokes.

Taylor scored a magnificent 68 in the morning, and Cleland came from behind with a splendid effort, in which he had 17 birdie putts and holed three of them. The course record at Avondale was 65, but Cleland’s 67 is the best since the new holes were put in to replace the fourth and fifth.

The golf of the top players was extraordinarily good and the struggle among the three leaders intensely interesting—often exciting. Taylor had nothing more than a 5, anywhere in 36 holes, and in the second round the three leaders had a best ball score of 62, eight under. In every respect, this was a rewarding and well-con-ducted tournament Avondale was in fine order, and there were no complaints about the greens, which held well and offered excellent prospects for the good, firm putt

The tournament began in white frost, developed through a period of mist in which the course looked like a steaming jungle, to clear, warm sunshine. There was a full entry, both in the under-21 and under-17 sections, and the easy confident swinging, even of the little fellows barely in their teens, would have caused the middle-aged, middle-handicap players who throng the Christchurch courses to wince. While the frost was melting and the greens were wet, there was a very general tendency to be too sparing with the chip and the long putt, and it seemed a pity that more players did not heed the advice of a junior football coach, whose stentorian

voice from a ground a considerable distance away could be heard charging his players with the need to “Come on, get up with it.” But in general, the level of proficiency was high. Even when they were scoring poorly, the relaxed and rhythmic swings of these youngsters suggested they were playing well.

Hope deserved to win. for under pressure he made fewer mistakes than Taylor. Their struggle was a repetition of the same tournament two years' ago, where Taylor was in front nine holes from home, but succumbed by two shots. For all that Taylor is a vastly-improved player, and one of the very brightest prospects Canterbury golf has had for a long time. Cleland, too, increased hl* standing with his superb second round.

Six years ago, when he wa* only 14, Hope went round Avondale in 72 during the under-17 event. Hl* dedication to the game may be measured by the fact that his principal recollection of the round I* that he three-putted at the first, the sixth and the eighteenth. On Saturday, he showed the same determined approach, and his coolness when things wer* not going particularly well was a credit to him. Taylor, too, won admiration for hl* courag* as well as his skill.

The morning round seemed to make it a two-man event, because Taylor's 68 and Hope's 68 were followed at a respectful distance by the 73 of W. L. Maw (Ttmaru). Maw, who did very well In the last South Island junior Inter-provlnetal tournament, and played with credit In the recent Freyberg Rose-bowl tournament, showed mature judgment In his short game, and he had two good rounds. Taylor it wa* who caught th* eye, however. Strongly built—he Is 6ft 4ln in height, and weighs over 13 stone—he ha* benefltted by a recent visit to Australia. A law student, he spent much of the vacation working on the Snowy River project and he looks very strong and fit. Moreover, a week of golf before his return taught him that he had to hit the ball harder, and he has lengthened his drives and Irons quit* dramatically. With it, he is a splendid putter. In a Rusaley competition he had successive rounds of 68, 70 and 66, and there can be no doubt he has a fine future In th* game. He and Hope both had birdies at the first hole of the tournament, and played to par tor four more holes. At the sixth and eighth, however, Taylor dropped strokes, whereas Hope at the short seventh put hie tee shot three feet from the pin and went to two under.

The ninth hole began a brilliant burst by Taylor. At that hole Hope chipped and twoputted, to turn in 34, one under; Taylor holed a nice putt there for a birdie. At the tenth, 458 yards—and aU the tees were right back on Saturday—Taylor showed hl* tremendous power. A beautiful drive and a 4-lron put him six feet from th* hole and in went the eagle putt. Two massive woods, a little chip and a formal putt gave him a birdie four at the 586-yard eleventh, co that in three holes he was four under the card. For the next six holes, Taylor had pars, and several of them testified clearly to his stomach for the game. He ihissed the green at the thirteenth, but his chip wa* put dead; at the fourteenth, he sank an eight-footer for his par; he missed a putt of under five feet at the fifteenth after a superb 3-iron, but it was for a birdie; from 38 feet, he putted dead again to get his four at the sixteenth and at the difficult seventeenth he sank one of 13 feet for his 4.

There wer* other example* of hl* courage. Straight after his dramatic recovery, he missed the twelfth green and had a nasty lie on • path from which he could not drop. His chip left him 15 feet from the hole, but he rammed that putt in too, with the firmness which marked his game. Only at the last, where he hit his tee shot to th* green, did he falter. A little two-footer which lipped the cup gave him a 4 and took him from 67 to 68. Hope had a slightly more adventurous homeward half. He went to two under again with a birdie at th* tenth but chipped and two-putted the twelfth and thirteenth. At the 321-yard fifteenth, he hit a 4-wood beautifully, and holed his putt of under five feet and he finished with three pars. In the afternoon, they started on the tenth, and this half, much more testing than the other, was covered by both players In par 35. Each had two birdies, with their eecond* at the sixteenth (372 yards) classic example* of their golfing quality. Hope had a putt of a foot for hl* 3, Taylor one of two Inches. So Taylor went to the first tee with a lead of one. but Hope went to th* front with five holes left. At the eecond. third, fourth and sixth. Taylor chipped and two-putted—ln - this second round he had 35 putts, compared with 28 in the morning—and in those five boles lost hl* grip on the title. He putted boldly in hl* attempt* to rectify a couple of loose iron* and weak

chips, but hs could not find th* hole so readily. Hope had his lapses too. In the morning, he was distinctly unlucky with several putt* which hit the hole and stayed out, but in the final nine he missed two or three he should have dropped. He also lost * stroke at the second and another at the sixth. He needed a par 4 at the ninth to win, Mt a splendid drive, pitched on to wltMn eight feet, and struck the birdie putt sweetly Into the hole. A few holes behind, Cleland made a tremendous effort. For 16 successive holes, he was on the greens In regulation figures. He had nine pars going out, his nine birdie putts being weli hit, usually going past the hole, but he could not drop the eight, 18 and 12-fo6t putts which could have given him an incredibly good score. For one so slightly built, he hit the ball a long way. and his iron* were remarkably accurate. Hl* break, came at the first hole, where he had a birdie, and a great Iron to the short fourth gave Mm another. He had a third birdie at the fifth and did not miss a green until the eighth hole—hi* seventeenth. Then, he was six feet off the cut portion, and cMpped to six inches of the cup. At the ninth, he needed a birdie to finish second, a par to equal Taylor’s score. He had a long putt for it and the ball could not have been a mlMi-

metre closer without falling in. Hope, Taylor and Cleland left th* others well beMnd, but there wet good golf from Maw, and excellent second rounds of 74 by R. E. Hobbs, of Amberley, who hit many lovely woods, and from P. Hay, who started the day with an outward score of 36 and had some loose shots in his second nine holes to thank for not finishing very much closer to the lead . A Dunedin boy, R. Young, won the under-1? title by a single stroke from W. Hoy end the strongly-built and promising J. Harbour. There wer* 13 single-figure handicaps in the under-17 field, and In the under-21 section, no fewer than 21 players had handicaps of * or better—a sign, indeed, of the golfing times. Results: —

CHAMPIONSHIPS Under-31 IM: D. R. Hop*. 88, 71. 142: B. C. Taylor, 68, 74; P. K. Cleland, 75, 67. 146: W. L. Maw, 73, 73. 151: R. E. Hobbe, 77, 74. 153: P. Hay, 78, 74. 154: J. I. Dixon, 76, 78. 157: S. C. Dixon, 77, 80. 161: B. Anderson, 85, 76; B. W. Rowe, 73, 82; G. N. Martin, 13, 73. Under-17 150: R. Young, 78, 74. 151: J. Barbour, 77, 74; W. Hoy, 75, 76. 152: J. Whittaker, 73 , 70. 155: B. Smyth, 75, 80. 157: T. Emery, 78 , 78. 162: G. Vercoe, 82, 80. 165: L. F. Martin. 81, 84. 168: S. Rutherford, 83 , 83. 166: D. Fraser, 34, 82. 167: P. Henning. 81, 88.

Other prise-winner* were.:— Under-21.—36-hole handicap: B. C. Taylor IM, B. Anderson 141. Best gross, morning: W. L. Maw 73. Afternoon: R. E. Hobbs 74. Stroke, morning: J. I. Dixon, 76, B—7o. Afternoon: p .Hay, 74, 6-68.

Under-17.—36-hole handicap: W. Karetal 135, B. Mewellen 135. Best gro**, morning: J. WMttaker 73. Afternoon: W. Hoy 76. Medel, morning: M. Kemp, 88, 22—66. Afternoon: D. R. Griffith, 83. 18—65.