Heard's golf fulfilled organisers' dream

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32775, 27 November 1971, Page 14

Heard's golf fulfilled organisers' dream

(By

J. K. BROOKS)

The organisers of the Christchurch Garden City Classic are probably still singing the praises of Jerry Heard. The way in which the skilled Californian professional “stage-man-aged” the final 36 holes of the $15,000 tournament brought golf enthusiasts in their thousands flocking to the Russley course on the last day.

Last year, the result was beyond doubt after P. A. Harvey had produced his remarkable 64 on the third day. But only three strokes covered the first five players after Saturday's round this year. The public’s interest was captured, and Heard did not disappoint his big gallery. He scored birdies from positions which would have caused lesser players to drop shots, and his reliable putting and the quality of his iron play will live long in the memory. ' He provided an object lesson in good putting, taking great care with body position, the weight being finnly on the front foot On the last afternoon he struck his putts with the precise touch and timing of the gong-beater in J. Arthur Rank films, and for every birdie putt which dropped, there was one which caressed the side of the cup.

His open stance on the tee showed the influence of Lee Trevino, the American, Canadian, and British Open champion, but rarely did he swing his woods as sweetly as he would have liked. Many of his faded drives ended in the rough, on the right. However, his phenomenal iron play enabled him to emerge from the long grass, the trees, and the occasional bunker as if he had never deviated from the proper path to the green. Heard endeared himself to all who met him, not only because of his stature as a golfer, but through his modesty and quiet charm. He hopes to be able to return to Russley next year to defend his title. If his trip becomes a reality, the tournament will have a wonderful drawcard. The lean left-hander. R. J. Charles, was the one

player who had a chance to head off Heard. From tee to green, he has probably not played Russley better, and he improved a stroke a round on his previous best effort in the classic.

But, apart from the front nine holes in the third round, Charles failed to grasp consistently the birdie chances he fashioned for himself; it was sad to see the keen edge missing from his putting.

It was significant that in the final round, Charles took only 35 shots from tee to green, compared with Heart’s 38. But Heart had only 26 putts; Charles took 33, and his lowest number in any round was 29.

G. B. Wolstenholme, who seems to improve with age, and the popular K. D. G. Nagle, no longer plagued by his back ailment, each broke 70 three times, but they allowed Heart too much leeway in the first round. And the accomplished G. V. Marsh, who has now had two fifths and a fourth in the classic, left Russley despairing of ever winning on the course.

Marsh often scored his birdies the hard way—at the par four holes. A

momentary lack of concentration caused him to miss several opportunities at the par fives, and the back nine always had him struggling.

-For consistent scoring, J. M. Lister and the fledgling professional from Sydney, B. Jones, had few peers. Lister followed two rounds of 70 with two of 71, but his best effort was in “The Press” pro-am—a five-under-par 68.' Jones started with a 72, and then reeled off three 70s.

Lister always appeared to be bristling with aggression at the par five holes, especially the thirteenth the Russley club might even call the bend in file dogleg “Lister’s comer,” because of his habit of taking on the trees. He is undoubtedly a fine player, but two or three wild shots in each round prevented him from emulating his scoring in the 1969 classic, in which he was second to Nagle.

The 20-year-old Jones is not much bigger than a jockey, but, like the tiny Thai, S. Onsham, he proved that size is not a handicap to a golfer if the timing of the swing is right

The itinerant American, T. K. Nettles, caused surprise by the quality of his golf. But P. W. Thomson, in spite of his admirable swing, failed to trouble the leaders and S. Sewgolum, who was troubled by a boil under his arm, did not pick up sufficient strokes at the par fives to win a place in the final sprint. F. Phillips, twice winner of the Australian Open, played the last three rounds in 10 under par, but his 80 in the first round wrecked his chances. And P. A. Harvey, winner of the event last year, putted poorly this time and failed to win a cent of the prize money.

After Charles and Lister, the best of the New Zealand professionals was T. C. Kendall, who produced three par rounds and a 72. But he had some disturbing lapses with short putts.

• W. J. Godfrey, who partnered Charles splendidly in the World Cup contest four years ago, was a big disappointment. The younger men, A. J. Palmer and R. M. Farrant, each showed a flash of form and F. A. Malloy started with a flourish, being six under par at the half-way stage, but slumped through some slack iron play thereafter. It is a wonder how some tournament professionals make a living. At Russley, 110 players competed for 30 cash prizes. The putting green and the driving range became the meeting place of the also-rans, as they polished up their games in the hope of doing better at Dunedin.

The tournament was extremely well run by the men from the Lions club and the Round Tables, and the Russley officials and green-keeping staff maintained their high reputation for handling a big event.

By producing 98 sub-par rounds, the players contributed to the success of the i tournament, and their colourful garb helped to make the classic a bright, exciting event. It is not so many years ago that grey slacks and a fairisle jersey formed the standard dress for players. Now there is Charles, with his burnt orange and his lime green pullovers, Marsh, with his lavender Outfit, and Listar, with his purple patterned bell-bottoms.

The standard of golf seems to be better, too.