Rich Beats Wind And Field At Amberley

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31785, 16 September 1968, Page 16

Rich Beats Wind And Field At Amberley

A long, lean left-handed golfer from Greendale, J. H. Rich, beat a field which included half a dozen Canterbury representatives, to win the Amberley club’s open tournament yesterday.

Rich also defeated a wind which was described by some club members as a bit of a breeze, but which to most of the visiting players produced conditions they regarded as the equivalent of a bad day at Carnoustie.

In winning by three strokes Rich solved more accurately than the others the many problems based on the triangle of velocities familiar to air navigators; but the golfer’s task is the harder, because his ball loses speed. On some of the cross-wind holes, irons had to be played 50 yards wide of the green; and it was common for wellstruck approaches to descend vertically towards the green, only to be blown backwards at the last moment. Success Deserved

Rich deserved his success, for he played steadily throughout the 36 holes, and when struggling for a par, usually found his putter equal to the task. His bold, confident putting is a legacy, perhaps, of the putting course which surrounds his home.

He did have some difficult moments. One badly-hit drive in the afternoon skidded off the tee and lodged beneath a concrete marker on the women’s tee about 50 yards ahead, a collision which left a deep cut on the ball and a considerable impression on his gallery. At another hole Rich’s ball was discovered secreted in the extremely unhygienic remains of a hare, several feet off the ground in a tree. If the hare was high, the tree was under six feet, and Rich was allowed to drop out. There were no volunteers to help him.

Second to Rich, and three strokes behind, were A. W. Robinson and F. T. Hobbs, each of whom scored a fine oneunder 71 in the morning. Rich, with 72 and 74, was closely pursued by Hobbs until four holes from home; Robinson fell behind in the first three holes of the afternoon, and a valiant effort at the end failed to make up the leeway. Strange Effects It was little wonder the scoring was not spectacular, for the north-west wind had some disastrous side-effects. The 200yard par-3 third hole was particularly expensive. There the wind gusted fiercely across the exposed green, and on many occasions good-looking shots were flung out of bounds on the beach. It was a dreadful battle up the 550 yards of the thirteenth into the wind; but drives of enormous length were common at the next, down-wind hole. This measures 390 yards, and has been driven on the full during a howling nor'wester. Yesterday, balls quite often went into and through a belt of pines 340 yards from the tee. For all the worries of the wind, and the sharp increase in the pace of the greens during the day, golf at Amberley is a delight. The widelyproclaimed view of Motunau from the third fairway was a little below expectations; but the blues and greens of the hills, the native bush about the course, the frequent glimpses of the sea—except at the third—are magnificent. Popular Event Some of the top players found trouble with the greens, but most agreed that they held the approach well, and offered satisfactory surfaces. It is a most popular tournament. For the two days—the junior section was played on Saturday—242 entries were accepted, and 95 were balloted out. Hobbs, playing relaxed golf, set the pace in the morning. Although he had two birdies going out, he was one over at the turn, but came home like a winner, with a 34, two under, which had birdie putts rimming the hole at the last two greens.

Robinsnn, throughout the day, was troubled from time to time by wayward tee shots. A ball hit off line, and a victim of the wind, was likely to race vast distances off the fairway, across the firm turf and the tussock rough. But Robinson’s short game was of the finest quality, e pitched and chipned superbly well, and his 28 putts In the morning were a measure of his skill.

Rich had two birdies and two one-overs in the first seven holes, then hit 11 successive pars, to be one behind Hobbs and Robinson at half-way, with I. D. Dobson. R. B. Grey and R. Dunlop two strokes further back. Early in the afternoon it became a three-way battle only. Casual Approach

Rich, deceptively casual in his approach, had a tense and protracted struggle with Hobbs. With a cigar clenched between

his teeth in the style of the America ■ professional. Joe Campbell, Rich struck the first blow when at the opening hole his drive left him in the middle of a thick clump of tussock. From this inauspicious start he achieved a birdie—an extraordinary 3-wood out of the thicket, and a 8 foot putt. Hobbs opened with a 5, one over but he all but scored an eagle at the long second to regain the lead.

But at the testing third Hobbs three-putted from three feet; Rich had his par, and he never again surrendered the lead, although when he dropped a shot at the long thirteenth Hobbs drew level again. Rich finished well, being level for the last five holes, and missing his birdie at the eighteenth narrowly, the ball going in and out again. Level with Rich four holes from home, Hobbs was decidedly unlucky at the 370-yard fifteenth, where a good-looking pitch landed in front of the green, but took off in an enormous bounce and raced past the pin into thick, lush grass. He came out too strongly, and needed a chip and two putts. A sprayed drive at the next hole cost him another shot, and brave attempts at birdies at each of the final two holes missed very narrowly.

Robinson, unable to effect such excellent recoveries as he had in the morning, lost three shots to Rich and the card In the first three holes, but surrendered only one more. A birdie at the sixteenth gave him a chance of being second, and a birdie putt at the quaint little seventeenth (115 yards) was very close. But at the last hole his approach was short, his chip a little strong, and his five left him equal with Hobbs. Afternoon Recovery Some of the better-known players redeemed themselves In the afternoon after losing their chances in the morning. R. M. Farrant looked a likely leader at half-way but dropped a shot when he hit his tee shot at the seventeenth into the undergrowth, and at the last hit his approach too firmly and sent his ball out of bounds at the back of the green. He was very sound with his 75 in the second round. R. H. Bradley and J. R. Broadhurst each, incredibly, had 83s in the morning. Broadhurst had won th<« tournament in 1968 and 1967, Bradley in IHS. Bradley improved with a 78. Broadhurst played extremely well for his 75. But for them, and for nearly all the players, the wind was the winner. CHAMPIONSHIPS Senior 146—J. Rich, 72 , 74. 149—A. W. Robinson, 71, 78; F. T. Hobbs, 71, 78. 151— D. Began, 76. 75. 152 D. Beggs, 77, 75; B. L. Clegg, 77, 75; R. Farrant, 77, 75. 153 J. Warwick, 77. 76: C. Reid. 76, 77; J. S. Rutherford, 75, 78. Intermediate 157 B. Mclntosh, 81, 76. 158— R. Franks, 76, 82. 162 T. Kahi, 80, 82. 163 A. W. Wethey, 82, 81. 165—W. McNeill, 84, 81; P. Burnett, 81, 84. OTHER RESULTS Net aggregate, 36 holes: C. Reid. 68, 67—137; D. Hegan, 70. 69—139, on a count-back from W. M. Stocks. Senior —A.M. gross: F. T. I Hobbs, 71. net: R. Dunlop, 74, I 7 —67. P.M. gross: R. Hobbs, 74. Net: J. W. Warwick, 76. 6—70. on a count-back from W. M. Stocks. Intermediate. —A.Mt Gross: K. Roberts, 76. Net: C. Buxton, 79. 11—68. P.M. gross: A. D. Russell, 80. Net: H. Westland, 85, 14—71, on a count-back from I. Hazeldine and M. Logan. Teams’ prixe: R. Franks 65, B. K. Franks 73, N. Soper 72, R. Burrell 76—total 284. Pairs match: B. Mclntosh and R. Dunlop, 162.