Miss Sullivan keeps title

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32879, 30 March 1972, Page 24

Miss Sullivan keeps title

(By

R. T. BRITTENDEN)

Miss C. Sullivan retained her Canterbury 54-hole stroke title at Waitikiri yesterday, but only by one shot, after the best and keenest finish in a provincial golf event for many years.

Six holes from home, only three strokes covered the first four players, and it was a desperately close thing between Miss Sullivan and Mrs N. D. Cullen for first place.

Mrs Cullen started the day with a two-stroke advantage, lost it, and another shot, by the eleventh, squared the account with a fine birdie 3 at the fourteenth, and they were still level playing the last hole. There. Mrs Cullen found the green safelv in two, and her birdie putt looked like going in almost until the last second. The tragedy of her round was in her missing the 18-inch return putt. SAFE AND SURE Miss Sullivan, all efficiency at the most critical stage, also went very close to her birdie and safely holed her short second putt for her par 4 and the title. Yesterday the sun was shining, and the players responded to the pleasant conditions with the best golf of the tournamejit. Six players broke 80. more than in either of the earlier rounds. Mrs Cullen’s eclipse was attributable principally to her putter. She played very soundly, but she had to wait until the fourteenth before a putt of signflicant length went down. And there were some short ones which missed the hole. DROPPED THREE

She made very few mistakes. but two putting errors, and a bunker at the short ninth, cost her three shots and a 39. Miss Sullivan, with a remarkable birdie at the fourth was out in 37 and drew level. From the fourth tee she hit a drive which was simply an up-and-under, failing to make the slope of the hill she would normally leave well behind. But a great wood second, and a 9-iron left her only eight feet from the hole at this 405-yard hole, and in went the birdie putt. Mrs Cullen and Miss Sullivan held the lead, in turn, but Miss S. Hamilton and Miss S. Boag were never more than two or three shots away after the turn. Miss Sullivan’s golf was not as precise as it often is. She hit a few rank bad shots, but was usually able to recover. She lost her one-stroke lead at the fourteenth, but should have had it back at the par-5 fifteenth, where she was on in two, but missed a little second putt But at the pinch, she responded splendidly and was a deserving winner. The day’s best golf came from Miss Hamilton, who was six shots behind at the start of the dav. three at the finish. She was aggressive in her approach to a daunting task, and played beautifully most of the way. She hit the par-5 second in two, but three-putted, but she did not drop a shot until she threeputted the ninth. Orange-ribboned braids flying, she attacked the second half with the same enthusiasm, holing a 15-footer for a four at the tenth. The

only shot she dropped was at the sixteenth, where she chipped too strongly from an unhelpful lie and ran across the green. Off the tees, she was outstanding, and her fairway woods and irons were hit with extreme authority.

Miss Doherty, whose second round 74 was the best of the tournament, had a disastrous start yesterday. A weak second at the first hole put her in a bunker, she blew out into the bunker on the other side, and was at the back of it. downhill. in a crater. It took her two to emerge, and her brave putt hit the hole and jumped out. She fought back gallantly, but a second mishap at the seventh ended her chances. An over-strong second went beyond the green, and the ball was lost.

For a long time, Miss W. Bryant looked likely to have the best round of the day. With relaxed and pretty golf, she was out in 36, level with the card, and then put together four more pars. But little errors led to a string of s’s which cost her six shots at the last five holes. Leading scores:

230— Miss C. Sullivan, 78. 76, 78 231— Mrs N. D. Cullen, 76. 76' 79.

233—Miss S. Hamilton, 79, 79 75; Miss S. Boag, 79, 78, 78. 241—Miss M. Doherty, 84, 74, 83. 244—Miss W. Bryant, 85, 80, 79. 251—Miss P. L. McDonald, 86, 86, 79. Mrs R. F. Lafferty, 87, 86, J. Kinnaird, 31, 86,