Canterbury’s Big Win; Farrant Beats Murray

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32217, 9 February 1970, Page 26

Canterbury’s Big Win; Farrant Beats Murray

The dual Canterbury golf champion, R. M. Farrant, strengthened his case for inclusion in the New Zealand team for the Eisenhower Trophy contest this year when he beat the established international, R. C. [Murray, in Canterbury’s annual match against Mid - South Canterbury at the Brandon course, Ashburton, yesterday. [ Farrant, cool . yet deter-: ] mined throughout the tight encounter, clung to his more experienced opponent like a limpet to score a welldeserved win on the seventeenth green. Canterbury, with iis greater depth of talent, won the contest for the fifth successive year. The margin of 22 games to 10 illustrated the strength of a Canterbury side, which could afford to play men of the experience of M. R. Blank and A. K. Hynd in the bottom two posi-l tions. The home side, however,! gained some compensation! from the performances of its! top five players. They shaded: their Canterbury counterparts by 51 games to 41, to boost Mid-South Canterbury’s'

confidence for the Freyberg Rose Bowl tournament at Invercargill next month. Murray and Farrant had met twice previously, for a win each, and Murray looked set to go ahead when he established an early lead of two holes yesterday.’ But. an eagle at the eighth signalled the start of Farrant’s revival, and he carried on to win with a display reminiscent of his fine performance against another international, G. D. Brown (Balclutha). in the final of the Canterbury match play championship about three months ago. The highlight of the game came at the sixth hole. Murray had gone through the green and Farrant chipped Io within a foot of the pin. Not in the ■least unnerved by this shot. Murray holed his chip shot for a birdie and a win, to underline his ability under pressure. But he was' unable to produce a similar effort in the hard-fought closing stages. Farrant was two over par at the finish. Murray had another interesting game against his old adversary. E. H, M. Richards. After some competent wood and iron play by the two players, the match ended in anti-climax, both three-putting the eighteenth to halve the game. A. C. Browne, always a difficult. proposition on the Brandon course, scored a clear-cut win against Farrant in the morning, but Browne sprayed many tee shots in the afternoon, and his opponent. Richards, coasted to a comfortable win. The reliable G, P. Vesty, of Timaru. lived up to his reputation with two good efforts. He [beat a Canterbury player of the same ilk, R. K. Atkinson, and then halved with J. R. Broadhurst in an excellent game; both were level with the card at the end. The most prominent of the!

young South Canterbury players, W. L. Maw, had been below form in recent months, and did not do himself justice in losing to Broadhurst. But he recaptured sufficient form in the afternoon to beat Atkinson.

Another youthful Timaruvian, J. Barbour, made a bid for the Mid-South Rose Bowl team by beating the Canterbury captain, J. F. Logie, and halving with G. L. Titmus. An 18-year-oid Ashburton boy. C. Alexander, who was on a handicap of seven last year, did his best to follow in Barbour’s footsteps. He lost to Logie in a tight game and was three up on Titmus before his swing quickened and he' slipped to defeat by one hole. I Results (with Canterbury ■names first): R. xM. Farrant beat R. C. Murray, 2 and 1; lost to A. C. Browne. 4 and 3. E. H. M. Richards beat Browne, 3 and 1; halved with Murray. J. R. Broadhurst halved with G. P. Vesty; beat W. L. Maw, 2 and 1. R. K. Atkinson lost to Maw, 3 and 2; lost to Vesty. 2 and 1. J. F. Logie lost to J. Barbour, 2 down; beat C. Alexander, 2 and 1. G. L. Titmus beat Alexander, 1 up: halved with Barbour. R. H. Bradley halted w|th M. McLennan; halved with N. Bain. B. C. Taylor beat Bain, 5 and 4; beat McLennan, 2 and 1. T. M. Stout beat A. Morgan, 5 and 4; beat G. Maw. 2 and 1. I. D. Dobson beat Maw, 3 and 2; lost to Morgan, 3 and 2. D. L. Beggs halved with T. Bennett: beat A. de Joux. 2 up. M. Small beat de Joux, 2 and 1; beat Bennett. 1 up. B. D. Petherick lost to D. W. Satterthwaite. 2 and 1; beat M. D. Holden. 2 and I. R. Griffiths beat Holden, 1 up; beat Satterthwaite. 4 and 3. A. K. Hynd beat C. Mclntosh. 4 and 3: beat D. Beswarick. 8 and 6. M, R. Blank beat Beswarick, 2 up; lost to Mclntosh, 1 down. 1