WAIKATO SPLENDID FREYBERG WINNER

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31677, 13 May 1968, Page 22

WAIKATO SPLENDID FREYBERG WINNER

(New Zealand Preet Aeeociation) NEW PLYMOUTH. The biggest man among New Zealand’s top golfers, the 18st E. J. McDougall, was a magnificent leader in Waikato’s devastating Freyberg Rose Bowl interprovincial golf victory at the Ngamotu links on Saturday.

McDougall achieved brilliant touch round the greens to outplay his Auckland opposite, B. P. Vezich, and helped Waikato to rout Auckland, 4j-|, in the final round. At the start of the round, Waikato had won all its matches and Auckland had had one defeat. The outcome of the tournament, therefore, depended on their meeting. Not only did Waikato’s big win make it a thoroughly deserved holder of the trophy for the first time, it also helped the home team, Taranaki, to retain second place. More Individual Wins Taranaki, after threatening to win the Rose Bowl earlier in the tournament, faded over the last two rounds. It just held on to halve with the under-rated Buller-Westland-Marlborough-Nelson team, and in the last round, lost to Bay of Plenty. 3-2. Although Auckland and Hawke’s Bay also gained five points, the same as Taranaki, the home team held second place by virtue of having 21) individual wins to Hawke’s Bay’s 20) and Auckland’s 20 Waikato’s win was deserved because of its vastly superior play from No. 1 to No. 5. The mighty McDougall was unbeaten in his seven matches, with five wins and two halves, the only No. 1

player to retain an unblemished record. The other team members— G. C. Stevenson, T. A. Orsmby, K. B. Haggle and P. A. Maude—lost only one game each, a factor illustrating the team’s depth and strength. Top Of His Form After beating G. E. Clarke (Otago) on Saturday morning, McDougall was in fine trim against Vezich, and be played some fantastic chips to the pin from 20 or 30 yards away, equally fine shots from a couple of bunkers, while his putting was, for the most part, deadly. At the fifth. McDougall chipped in from about 20 yards after going through the back of the green and then duffing his first return chip. His chips to the pin at both the eighth and thirteenth left him short putts, and the last finished Vezich off, 6 and 5. In all, McDougall had four birdies and finished three under the card. The only man to save Auckland from an outright thrashing was the 19-year-old B. C. Rafferty, who sank a birdie putt on the last green to win the hole and halve his match with Stevenson. Murray, Jones Halve Two other leading players in New Zealand golf, R. C. Murray (Canterbury) and S. G. Jones (Hawke’s Bay), had a large following in the final round. Both played par golf, neither could gain the advantage, and they halved their match.

Murray finished the tournament with one loss, to Clarke, while the tall, strong-hitting Nelson player, G. Lummis. was another No. 1 player to have only one loss, to R. L. Pease (Taranaki). Apart from McDougall, the only unbeaten player in the tournament was 48-year-old A. N. Jeffery (Taranaki). He finished the tournament in his very best form, with three birdies in his winning round against the previously unbeaten Bay of Plenty veteran, 50-year-old A. C. Relph. Canterbury showed something of its true form by first beating Manawatu-Wanganul and then halving with Hawke’s Bay on the final day.

This left Canterbury In ninth position. In his five wins, one halve and one loss, Murray was five times under the card when his match finished, once level with it and only on one occasion over par—a fine achievement considering the difficult conditions in the early stages of the tournament Murray and Jones halved the first six holes, and then Murray sank a 20-foot birdie putt on the sixteenth (they started at the tenth) and had a good four on the eighteenth, to be two up at the turn.

Jones birdied the third and they halved all other holes until the last when a well struck tee shot by Murray just missed the right hand side of the green, and he chipped back too heavily to need two putts. Jones on the green in one, made sure of his two putts to win the hole. Match points, with individual games won in brackets, were:—

Waikato 7 (28}); Taranaki 5 (21}), Hawke's Bay 5 (20}). Auckland 5 (20). Bay of Plenty 4} (17}), Buller-Westland-Marlbor-ough-Nelson 4 (19), Otago 3 (10}), Mid-South Canterbury 3} (16}). Canterbury 3 (17}), Wellington 2} (14}>, ManawatuWanganul 2 (14}). Southland 2 (14), Northland 2 (12}), Gisborne 0 (9).