Australia And U.S. Share Golf Lead

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31802, 5 October 1968, Page 15

Australia And U.S. Share Golf Lead

(Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.)

MELBOURNE. France lost the lead, Australia and the United States took over as the pace-setters, and New Zealand had its best day of the tournament when the third round of the Espirito Santo Trophy women’s amateur teams’ golf championship was played yesterday.

Although the spectacular French player, Miss C. Lacoste, had a second 75 of the event, her team-mates could not match her brilliance, or the consistency of the Americans and Australians.

With the best two scores of each round counting towards the total, Australia and the United States are on 463, and France has 464. The final round will be played today and there will be a tremendous battle between these three for the championship. Fifth Best of Day New Zealand’s team score of 157 for the third round was bettered by only four

countries—Australia, France, the United States and Sweden. All three members of the New Zealand team relished the better conditions and improved greatly on their scores in the first two rounds. New Zealand lifted itself from thirteenth equal after the second round to eighth after the third. Mrs J. Whitehead had the best New Zealand score —78. Miss N. I. White returned 79 and Miss G. Taylor 81.

New Zealand is on 489, trailing the leaders by 26 strokes. Too Strong—Too Weak Mrs Whitehead started well, with two birdies on the first five holes. Then, she bunkered her tee shot at the seventh, and mindful of the fact that from the same bunker in the second round she exploded over the green, Mrs Whitehead this time played a much weaker stroke and the ball failed to clear the trap. She took a five on the parthree hole and then dropped a further three strokes on the ninth. Here, Mrs Whitehead hooked her drive into the trees, chipped out, hooked her third into some scrub, took two shots to recover and then chipped and two-putted. Her outward nine was 40, but then she played eight holes in par figures and dropped her only stroke on the homeward half when her tee shot at the seventeenth found a fairway bunker. Miss White started with a fine drive and a beautifullyhit wedge to within 2ft of the first hole for a birdie 3. She was out in 37 (one over) and home in 42, for her 79. It would have been a 78 had not misfortune struck at the thirteenth hole. She addressed her ball on the fairway and then saw it roll forward for a penalty stroke. Miss White was still only four over with three holes to play, but on both the sixteenth and seventeenth she bunkered her approaches to the green. Lacked Real Sparkle Once again, the feature of Miss Taylor’s round was her driving. But around and on the greens she lacked any real sparkle, two-putting 16 times and three-putting twice. Miss Taylor had a fine opportunity to finish her round with a birdie when her approach to the last hole stopped 4ft from the pin. But as on every other hole in her round, her putt slipped past without touching the side.