STANTON TAKES GOLF TITLE

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31519, 6 November 1967, Page 26

STANTON TAKES GOLF TITLE

(N.Z. Press Association —Copyright) CANBERRA. The brilliant young Sydney player, R. Stanton, won the sponsored international golf title by one stroke from the trouble-plagued international, B. W. Devlin, at Royal Canberra yesterday.

Stanton, with a final round of 73, had a three-under-par 72-hole aggregate of 285. Devlin started the last round with a one-stroke lead, but dropped four strokes in the opening six holes, and finished second on 286. The Australian Open champion, P. W. Thomson, and his fellow countryman, E. W. Dunk, shared third equal place on 288. Overseas Men Faded The overseas contingent faded badly over the final 36 holes. The Englishmen, C. A. Clark and P. Townsend, had final rounds of 73 and 74, respectively. Clark finished with three birdies in the last seven holes to be in equal fifth position, on 290. Townsend, who dropped shots at three successive holes on the outward run, also staged a strong finish, with two birdies in the last four holes. He was equal eighth with G. B. Wolstenholme, who had the best round of the British players, with a two-under-par 70. Townsend and Clark, who had both looked title prospects at the half-way mark, suffered from loose driving over the final two rounds. The New Zealander, W. J. Godfrey, who overcame sickness to play on Friday, reI covered splendidly to score

a 71 yesterday, and finished on 292. His countryman, B. T. Boys, faded to a 78, for a total of 303. Godfrey had rounds of 72, 80, 69, 71, and Boys, 76, 76, 73 78. Landed in a Tree Devlin’s troubles began before the start of the final round, when he was practising. Using his driver, the club slipped from Devlin’s hands and soared almost 50 yards, lodging itself 40ft up in a tall gum tree. Officials took more than 20 minutes to retrieve it. They succeeded only two minutes before Devlin hit off. Stanton started with birdies on the first two holes, but in the middle of his round dropped four shots in eight holes, allowing Devlin to draw level with three holes to play. Devlin put his tee shot into a lake at the fifteenth, and at the next hole Stanton sank a 7ft birdie putt to gain a two-shot advantage. Although Devlin scored a birdie on the last hole, Stanton hung on for his one-stroke victory. The aggregate scores of other overseas players were: 294, R. Cole (South Africa); 297, P. Lee (Britain); 300, D. Millensted (Britain): 305, A. Brookes (South Africa) and M. Bembridge (Britain).