LAST 32 FOUND INAMATEUR GOLF McDougall, Stevens Share Top Qualifying Place

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32120, 16 October 1969, Page 15

LAST 32 FOUND INAMATEUR GOLF McDougall, Stevens Share Top Qualifying Place

(New Zealand Press Association)

NELSON.

The New Zealand representatives, E. J. McDougall (Tokoroa) and the defending champion, B. A. Stevens (Titirangi), tied as top qualifiers in the New Zealand amateur golf championships at Tahunanui yesterday. Each carded two par rounds of 71 to finish two strokes ahead of their nearest rivals.

Both have won the title once before, McDougall in 1957 and Stevens last year on his home course. They teamed together on Monday and were second in the foursomes.

Stevens had the chance to head off McDougall on ' the final green and win . the St Andrews Salver 1 outright, but his putt ’ skipped over the hole. A. P. Snape (New South ■ Wales), the only overseas player competing, produced ; the best round of the chami pionships to date, a two-under-par 69. But with his . disappointing first round of 77, after winning the foursomes with R. A. White (Remurea), it gave him a total of 146, four behind the leaders. Murray Went Close The other five New Zealand representatives in the field of ,77 S. G. Jones (Hastings), J. <D. Durry (Paraparaumu), R. C. Murray (Timaru), B. C. Rafferty (Hutt) and F. T. Gordon (Napier)—all qualified among the 32 players to begin match play today. But Murray, the North Island champion and runner-up for the Australian amateur title this year, was within four strokes of the cut-off mark of 155. Jones followed his first round 72 with a tidy 73 for a total of 145. Rafferty finished on 147, Durry on 148 and Gordon on 150. Murray needed a big improvement on his first round 78 but could not manage better than 73 for 151. White, an Australian who has been living in Auckland for three years, again failed to reproduce his form of the foursomes, and a 75 put him on 149. Conlon Fades On the same mark was P,| ;Conlon (St Clair), the first! round leader with 70 and the, only player besides Snape to better par for the course so far. The young Dunedin player was well back in the field with a 79 in the second round.

L. J. Stephens, a former Southlander whose form in Nelson has been poor this year, again surprised with a handsome round of 73 following his 71 on Tuesday. The total of 144 put him only two behind McDougall and Stevens, and level with the young Otago representative, B. E. Newall, who had two rounds of 72.

Among those who failed to qualify was B. Day (Kaikohe), runner-up for the title last year and holder of the New Zealand left-handers’ title. He had rounds of 80 and 76 for 156. Snape, who had the putting horrors in the first round, started well yesterday with a putt for a birdie on the first green. He had changed back to an ancient putter, which he had discarded after the practice rounds. Easier Last Nine He dropped strokes at the third and the troublesome ninth when he encountered a bank approaching the green that has attracted many of the top players. But birdies at the sixth and eighth put him out in a one-under 35. He whittled another stroke off coming home, which is proving by far the easier nine holes. His fourth birdie, at the par-four sixteenth, put him in for an excellent 69. Snape said afterwards that he felt he was hitting the ball as well as he did in the first round but his improved performance on the greens made all the difference. McDougall made an astonishing recovery with four birdies in the space of five holes after he had lost his ball at the fourth. A vast boomerang of a slice sent the ball scudding out of sight and not even a sizeable gallery could find it, even after so much time was taken that the next group was allowed to play through. The big Tokoroa player responded to the challenge with birdies at the seventh, ninth, tenth and eleventh, to go one under. He dropped a stroke at the twelfth but then

finished the round in par figures.

ures. Throughout the round, McDougall hit fiercely off the tees. "I don’t go that far for my holidays,” said his partner, White, as one vast drive from McDougall disappeared down the fairway. Until the last few holes, McDougall was also in fine touch with his putter. Rafferty, playing erratically since he came to Nelson, had another strange round. He scored an eagle on the eleventh (after narrowly missing one earlier) when he placed a 7-iron to within Bft of the pin, and also had three birdies. But at three holes, including the last, he dropped two strokes, and was two under with only four holes to play. Jones also Scored an eagle three, at the first hole, but was two strokes down at the turn. He came home in a comfortable 73. Murray had the same score, dropping strokes at the fifth and sixteenth. He had the unusual distinction of going through 36 holes of qualifying play without a single birdie.

Stevens, the defending champion, by contrast had four birdies in his round of 71. One of them at the seventh came from a putt of 18ft. Lumis Improves G. A. Lumis, the topranked Nelson player, who has been out of touch on his home course, showed improved form with 72 to qualify easily with 149. He also had 34 for the homeward nine. G. A. Combe (Kaiapoi), probably the biggest hitter in the championships, produced a 74 to qualify, even after rifling his ball out of bounds at the first hole. Stephens, another Nelson player, lost two strokes at the first hole but. unreeled three birdies to finish only two strokes behind the leading pair. Newall and P. D. Harvey (Kaikoura), who finished third in the foursomes, were other players to card 72 in the second round. Durry, three times winner of the

title, drifted with a 75 to finish on 148, six strokes behind the loaders.

Seven players with totals of 155 had to play off to fill'the last three places among the qualifiers. On the “sudden death” principle, one dropped out when he took six strokes at the first hole, and the position was decided at the second when only three of the remaining players had par fours. The successful three were W. N. Hollands (Hagley), J. S. Ingle (Hutt) and B. A. Wislang (Nelson).