Templeton golf to Taylor

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33776, 24 February 1975, Page 26

Templeton golf to Taylor

(By

BOB SCHUMACHER

Any open golf tournament at Templeton is likely to attract the Canterbury captain, Bruce Taylor, and little wonder. The Freyberg Rose Bowl representative strode triumphantly around 36 holes on the testing course yesterday to win the Templeton’s club summer open tournament by seven strokes. Last year, Taylor won the tournament after a play-off with Toby Richards, and in October he marked his reappearance in tournament golf after several months layoff with a win in the Templeton open. Although Templeton was in fine order considering the rain on Saturday, the conditions were not conducive to good scoring. PUTTING DIFFICULT It was a bleak day and an unrelenting easterly wind made the long holes in that direction difficult. Putting also became complicated, as the greens varied in the amount of water they had absorbed.

But Taylor completed his two rounds ini' 143—three under par. It was an admirable performance. Taylor was well on the way to retaining his title when he finished his morning round

in 70. There were three birdies in the front nine and only one blemish on the eighth. His fourth birdie was scored on the tenth—rated the most difficult of the par fours—and there was another on 14. Taylor needed a par at 18 to return 69, but had to settle for one-over.

After the morning round, two members of last year’s Canterbury Freyberg team, Paul Hartstone and Geoff Saunders, were the main dangers to Taylor. Both scored 735, but Saunders paid the penalty of not signing his card and was disqualified.

The Templeton senior club champion on six occasions, Ron Clements, promised to be among the first-round leaders' when he was twounder after 12. But he dropped three on 14, one on 15, another on 17, and two more on the last hole. Towards the end of his second round, Taylor allowed his concentration to lapse as the effects of almost eight hours on the course started to tell. A rare indiscretion from the tee cost him a stroke at 16 and brought him back to square with the card. But he secured his par comfortably at the seventeenth, and needed the same on 18 to finish with par figures. Taylor, although not strik-

ing his drive truly, gained good length, and then hit a magnificent low four-wood into the teeth of the wind to the green. “This hole has troubled me for ages, perhaps I can get down in two this time,” he said. He did from 65ft. Hartstone still had an outside chance of narrowing the gap to Taylor after 27 holes,

but he faltered slightly on the homeward half. Alan McMaster, on his home course, had two consistent rounds of 76 to finish third, one ahead of the New Zealand juniors, Murray Brown, and the former South Canterbury Freyberg representative, Gary Maw. Leading scores were:— Senior 143—8. C. Taylor, 70, 73. 150—P. E. Hartstone, 73, 77. 152— A. J. McMaster, 76, 76.’ 153— M. G. Brown, 75, 78; G. L. Maw, 77, 76. 154— S. W. Street, 76, 78. 156—1. Donaldson, 78, 78; MR. Pitman, 76, 80.

Intermediate 161— J. Crawford, 82, 79 162— G. Allan, 84, 78. 163— W. Wright, 80, 83; R. N. Brightwell, 83, 80. 164— A. Doherty, 83. 81. 165— P. Holmes, 79, 86; P. Duckworth, 81. 84. 166— H. Smith, 83, 83; A. R. Tolmie, 83. 83.

Junior 166— N. Lucas, 82, 84. 167— R. McKenzie, 82, 85. 170— P. Kearney, 85, 85; B. Prescott, 88, 82. 171— R. Preece, 87, 84. 172— D. Rhodes. 85, 87. 174— A. Gardner, 86, 88. 175— R. Orr, 87. 88.