Young golfer eliminates top Canterbury players

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34131, 19 April 1976, Page 22

Young golfer eliminates top Canterbury players

(Bt,

BOB SCHUMACHER)

A fledgling feather-weight from Burnside High School ousted two prominent provincial golfers from the Canterbury 7 amateur championship at Waitikiri yesterday to qualify for the semi-finals today.

The victor was the diminutive 16-year-old. Brent Street; those vanquished were the 1974 champion. Gary t'rlwin. and the Frevberg Rose Bowl representative. Geoff Saunders. Nothing could detract from Street’s wins. He clayed the best aolf of the dav in demoralising Urlwin — a firn birdie putt to end the match at 13 was typical of what Urlwin encountered — and Saunders, after losing four of the first five holes, was dealt with in the same methodical manner. This morning Street, who is upholding the family tradition — last year his brothers. Stephen and Mark, reached the semi-finals — will strike the steadv .Tames Angus, and the Canterbury Frevberg No. 1. Bruce Tavlor, will play the reserve, Murray Brown. Both should be excellent matches. Action For the 16 players who qualified from the two stroke rounds on Saturday, the first round of match plav yesterday morning yielded plenty of action. Golfing’s 10 commandments — thou shalt not slice or hook, cut or pull, under-

jclub or over-club, top or [shank, three putt or be bunI kered, were broken sinfully, iThankfully, the ultimate sacirilege — an air shot — was ! not committed. There was an over-ail improvement in the standard of play in the afternoon, but it was fitting that the four players who exhibited most control over both rounds were the four who were still in line for the championshin. Four of the top eight qualifiers departed ir the first round, which was in keeping [with the pattern that has developed in recent years. Quick win I Taylor, showing no signs of staleness after an exacting week at the Frevberg tournament, easily led the qualifiers, with two sub-oar rounds of 71 and 70. He has nine strokes better than Mark Street. Ironically. Brent (Street, who putted badly, just 'scraped into the final place with 159. I Yesterday Taylor ruthlessly disposed of the young Christchurch and Rawhiti member, John Carbines, 9 and 7. The Canterburv captain was oneunder and 7 up at the turn. The match between Barrv [Smith and lan Carruthers al'ways seemed destined to finiish"at the eighteenth. There

was little between them, but Smith got the vital break at the right time to win, 1 up. Ricky Vincent struck the ball well and chipped soundly to defeat Don Pankhurst; James Angus progressed to the second round by stopping a strong challenge from John Williamson at 17, and Mark Street, after a close tussle against Barrv Alexander, also won at 17. “He’s like Arnold Palmer” lamented Urlwin as Brent Street finished three-under when eliminating the noted Russley match-play exponent. The defending champion, Joe Whitaker, on holiday from Dunedin, bowed out to the Canterbury stroke champion, Brown. Whitaker had the measure of Brown from tee to green. But Whitaker’s ordeal started on the greens: he three-putted 15 and 16 to go 1 down, missed a reasonable birdie opportunity at 17, and three-putted from off the green at 18 to make Brown’s task so much simpler. Chance lost Stephen Paterson, a member of Waitikiri’s Simon Cup team, had his chances to cause a major surprise and beat Saunders. Paterson was 2 up after nine, but his driving fell away and he spent

much of his time on the back nine negotiating intervening trees. But he fought bravely, played his chips and wedge shots extremely well, and it was only three putts on the first extra hole that ended his resistance. Saunders, suffering from battle fatigue and mental weariness, could not survive a barrage of birdies on the second, fourth, eighth and ninth holes by Brent Street; Adapting to the slow greens readily, Street, without any signs of emotion or nervousness, was 4 up at the turn and was congratulated by Saunders at the fourteenth. Brent Street’s twin brother, Mark, the beaten finalist last year, did not enjoy the same fortune against Angus. Angus, the Russley open winner, was rocked by two 13m putts and was 2 down after five. Missed The sixth was the turning point. Street was ideally placed to attain his birdie and go 3 up. But Angus made his birdie from 4m and Street missed his from Im. Angus was more reliable from the tee, but his opponent was always dangerous on the greens. However, Angus took command with surprising swiftness on the final holes. He birdied 14 and dropped shots by Street at 15 and 16 proved fatal. Brown, if still suspect with his drives, attacked strongly and successfully with his iron shots. He judged the line and pace of his home greens adroitly and was always ahead of Vincent, a promising young Avondale junior. Taylor, too, was in charge of his quarter-final against Smith. Smith had the misfortune to suffer several bad lies on consecutive holes on the front half, but Taylor, seeking his third match-play title, was the more consistent and secured his dace in the final four at the fifteenth. MATCH PLAY First round.—Taylor beat Carbines. 9 and 7; Smith beat Carruthers, 1 up; Vincent beat Pankhurst, 3 and 2; Brown beat Whitaker, 1 up; Saunders beat Paterson, at the nineteenth; B. Street beat Urlwin, 7 and 5; Angus beat Williamson, 2 and 1; M. Street beat Alexander. 2 and Quarter-finals: Taylor beat Smith, 4 and 3; Brown beat Vincent, 4 and 3; B. Street beat Saunders, 5 and 4; Angus beat M. Street, 4 and 2. QUALIFYING ROUNDS 141—B. C. Taylor, 70, 71. 150— M. E. Street, 74, 76. 151— J. W. A. Whitaker, 76, 75. 152— G. C. Saunders, 75, 77. 154 — I. T. Carruthers 78 76; J. M. Angus. 73, 81. 155— F. D. Pankhurst, 75, 80; G. Urlwin, 75, SO. 156— J. E. Carbines. 80, 76; B. M. Alexander, 78. 78; M. G. Brown. 75. 81. 157 — S. Paterson, 77, 80. 158— B. E. Smith, 81, 77; J. N. Williamson 80 78. 159— R. M. Vincent, 83 76; B. K. Street, 82, 77.