Casper guest speaker

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33665, 15 October 1974, Page 38

Casper guest speaker

Billy Casper, one of the most notable American golfers, will be a guest speaker at the New Zealand “Sportsman of the Year’’ dinner in Christchurch on November 26.

He will fulfil the speaking engagement on his way to Dunedin, where he will compete in the Otago Charity Golf Classic. Casper will share the platform with M. Wenden, a former Olympic freestyle swimming champion from Australia: Dr J. D. Stewart, principal of Lincoln College and a former Canterbury Rugby coach; and Mr D. G. Sanders, who was chairman of the publicity committee for the Christchurch Commonwealth Games. Professional golf’s second millionaire, after A. Palmer, the 43-year-old Casper built, his reputation chiefly on his successes in his own country. He won the United States Open in 1959 and 1966, the Alcan Golfer of the Year title in 1969, and the United States Masters in 1970. On three occasions he

was runner-up in the American P.G.A. championship. But he was constantly I denied a place in the 1 “hie three” — Palmer,

G. Player, and J. NickJaus — because of his mediocre record outside the United States. He found victory in Britain elusive. In 1968 he missed the British Open after leading by four strokes at the half-way stage. He gained his first tournament victory in 13 months when he won! the Lancome Trophy in France earlier this month. His previous best effort in 1974 was to finish second equal in the Kaiser International tournament. On Sunday, Casper completed a par 72 third round to clinch the Lan-

cia d’Oro professional invitation tournament at Turin, Italy. His total for the 54 holes of 209 was seven under par. R. Cole, of South Africa, was second on 214, two strokes ahead of R. Bernardini, of Italy. Casper became a devotee of health foods in 1964, and he enjoys dishes such as buffalo steak, hippopotamus, bear, buckwheat crackers and elk stew. Two years later he was baptised into the Mormon Church, and for some years has given a percentage of his golf winnings and other earnings to the church. Mr Sanders, who will be the final speaker at the dinner — which is held to raise funds for the Murray Halberg Trust for Crippled Children — had a notable sporting background in Wales. He played Rugby, as a No. 8, for Llanelli against R. C. Stuart’s 1953 All Blacks, represented Welsh secondary schools, and was a Welsh junior champion and record-holder as a shot putter.

His wife, the former Cissie Davies, represented Britain as a gymnast in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics.