Thrilling golf seen in N.Z. women’s match play

Press, 19 October 1976, Page 40

Thrilling golf seen in N.Z. women’s match play

Bv

R. T. BRITTENDEN

Four golfers with the accumulated wisdom of Solomon—if somewhat short of his years—and four youngsters are left in the New Zealand women’s golf championship at Russley.

Two rounds of matches! were played out .yesterday on a cold and windy stage, with the final scenes set in driving rain, but performances were interesting, often! spectacular. The match of the day—andf perhaps of the tournament —i was between Liz Douglas and , Judith Parkes. Mrs Douglas,! foursomes winner, clear vic-i; tor in the stroke champion- f shop, and at her best dis-| tmctlv the best player in tl j field, was taken to the nineteenth by Mrs Parkes, whose) frail charm is quit' at odds • with her resolution and equ-L able temperament. Jean Whitehead won only . at the last green against thel engaging and sporting Brenda Ormsby. Canterbury’s Vai Cullen and Cushla Sullivan are still there. So is the title-holder, , Robyn Low of Southland, ■ and with her, in the quarter-! finals, are Cherry Kingham, • Heather Ryan, and Mary! Laugesen. There were, inevitably.!; some unexpected results. Kaye Maxwell, a current, New Zealand representative, , was beaten by Miss Ormsby ’ in the first round. Judy ( Davidson of Canterbury defeated Shirlev Johnson, a one- 1 handicap player from Auckland, Cathv Isaacs of Roto-' rua beat Otago’s Diane Gillett and Sue Boag a recent ; New Zealand player, went down to Sue Grigg, who won! her national match-plav title 19 years ago. It was a depressing day for the players, much more miserable than the unattrac-i tive ones before it. But as] someone said, it all went to| explain the extraordinary! alacrity with which women, players move about the; course: it is simply a matter, of survival. There was some very good golf in Miss Maxwell’s game with Miss Ormsby, at 17 the youngest player in the field. The scoring was excellent—they were only three or four over at the finish — and Miss Ormsby won because she maintained better control in the last vital holes. Miss Ormsby, although perhaps too full of swing for safety, hit some magnificent drives and fairway woods, and she had a slight but telling advantage most of the. Miss Maxwell, however, made a wonderful recovery at the par-3 fifteenth. She was bunkered there, but came out to within two feet and had her 3, as Miss Ormsbv three-putted for 4. That left Miss Maxwell only one down, but she could not respond to Miss Ormsby’s two splendid shots on the long sixteenth, into the wind. Miss Maxwell began to swing a little too fast and the pressure on her was reflected in her second shot at 17. She had just begun the

down-swing when she pulled ; away and started again. To her credit she made the | green, but finally missed a putt of not much more than a metre. Miss Davidson, a former New Zealand tennis champion, has played very good golf at this tournament, and she had a most creditable win over the highly-rated Mrs Johnson. It was a very even contest, resolved when Mrs Johnson three-putted 17, , and again three-putted from 20 feet at the last. ( Miss Kingham, another ( New Zealand representative, ( was taken to the last green 1 by Avis Osborne and the . match between Misses Boag and Grigg was also ex- I tremely close. Miss Boag j seemed to have the situation ' under control when she 1 holed from 3m at 16 after 1 Miss Grigg had sunk her putt from 4m : ’ Miss Boag was then one 1 up, but she played 17 badly. ' The last hole was an excel- ■ lent example of how good Miss Grigg’s short game remains. She was disturbingly short on the green. but chipped dead before Miss , Boag missed a 2m putt which j W’ould have kept the game ( alive. . Mrs Laugesen, who played i- the first women’s inter- ] provincial tournament in j 1948, came home, against the . odds and Sue Hutchins and , Mrs Isaacs, surely the most 1 enthusiastic competitor at ; th - tournament, played her I best golf of the week—only • three or four over in disposing of Mrs Gillett. Miss Ormsby’s driving j against Mrs Whitehead in the | afternoon was a mixture of I spectacular and suspect. She I out-distanced her sagacious ;and competent rival on many (occasions; but she was out I of hounds off the second tee, and had one or two other wayward tee shots. 3' she has skill, she ha? courage, and she has a sporting instinct which won her many friends in the gallery. When she holed a long putt for her 3 at the third, her smile was of the radiance the news media usually reserves for royalty. Yet two holes later, when Mrs Whitehead’s putt for a half ringed the cup dizzily before staying in, Miss Ormsby smiled just as warmly. Mrs Whitehead played her! 'usual strong but thoughtful) galf, her occasional lapses be-1 ing on the greens, where, with her unusual croquethoop stance, she is usually very sound. Miss Ormsby, three down with three to • play, won 16 and took 17 I after a. booming drive and ,;a glorious 6-iron. But at the jlast hole, she cut her iron into the right-hand bunker, ,’and was badly placed in it. I She played out across the | green to the other bunker; Jbut she was still smiling, jeven if a shade ruefully. i Mrs Cullen resisted a ■ (strong challenge from Miss

Davidson, who again played steadily and well. But Mrs : Cullen — whose pleasant , personality, her opponents often claim, is a shield against aggression, gave her opponent very few openings. The big-hitting Miss Ryan, only 18, gave a first-class performance against Alison Eather. Miss Ryan threeputted twice, but she missed only two greens, for her irons matched her driving quality. Miss Sullivan won the first three holes against Miss Grigg, but the tenacious Christchurch Club player whittled her back, as the rain fell. Miss Sullivan, whose putting has been very sound indeed, left herself short until she began to appreciate the changed pace of the putting surfaces. The defending champion, Miss Low, had a see-saw game against Sue Bishop. Mrs Bishop had some wild shots early and was in four bunkers during the first seven holes. She was four down at the turn, but made a great charge as Miss Low’s game fell away. Pars at 10, 11, 13 and 14 won her holes, Miss Low compounding her misdemeanours with a brief attack of the shanks. At 15, Mrs Bishop was bunkered again and lost the hole. She had none too happy a passage up 16 and after four shots was at the top of the bank behind the green. Miss Low was weak with her approach, chipped short —but then sank a long putt which won the hole and, in effect, the match. It will be difficult to have a harsh thought about the Inland Revenue Department, as long as Mrs Parkes is numbered among its staff. She provided the most thrilling and stirring golf of the tournament with her outstanding challenge against Mrs Douglas.

Mrs Douglas’s red and green outfit hinted at a stopgo performance, and so it transpired. Mrs Parkes, whose slight figure looked incapable of withstanding a really good southerly blow, was in the Oxford and Cambridge colours. But there was nothing donnish about her golf. She was all resolution, and commanded the utmost admiration for her response to the most challenging situations, i Mrs Parkes may well (reflect on her choice of club (after a fine straight drive at 18. She chose a 5-wood and went well through the green. From only a few yards closer, Mrs Douglas played a sound 6-iron to the green. Even then Mrs Parkes all but won. She chipped back short, but her putt from 7m was only a quiver from falling into'the hole. So they went to the nineteenth and there Mrs Douglas hit a thin driver, far short of the beauty sent out by Mrs Parkes. And Mrs Parkes was closer to the pin. Mrs Douglas putted up safely enough. Mrs Parkes did not strike her putt with her former authority and, left with a putt of about a metre, did not take quite enough green for the sharp swing.

Today Mrs Whitehead meets Mrs Cullen, Mrs Douglas plays Miss Kingham, Miss Ryan meets Miss Sullivan and Mrs Laugesen plays Miss Low.

FIRST ROUND Mrs J. Whitehead (Maiiawatu) beat Mrs E. Alien (Bay oi Plenty', S and 2; Mias B. Ormsby (Bay oi Plenty) beat Miss K. Maxwell i Auckland r, 2 and 1; Miss J. Davidson (Canterbury) beat Mrs S. Johnson (Bay of Plenty), 1 up; Mrs N. D. Cullen (Canterbury) beat Miss C. Hickev (Bay of Plenty), 3 and 1; Mrs W. R. Douglas (Southland) beat Mrs G. Dickson (Bay of Plenty), 6 and 5; Mrs J. R. Parkes (Canterbury) beat Miss A. McHardy (Hawke’s Bay), 4 and 2; Mrs R. S Kingham (Auckland) beat Mrs A. A. Osborne (Bay of Plenty), 1 up; Mrs V. Fralier (Bay of Plenty) beat Mrs A. Seiiinger (Wellington). 2 and 1: Miss A. Eather (Auckland) beat Mrs H. T. Hames (Mid-South Canterbury!, 5 and 4; Miss 11. Ryan (Waikato-King Country i beat Mrs R. N. Bearman (Mid-South Canterbury), t> and 5: Miss C. Sullivan (Canterbury: beat Mrs M. Hawke (Otago), 7 and 6; Miss S. Grigg (Canterbury) beat Miss B. S. Boag (Canterbury), 1 up; Miss R L. Low (Southland) beat Mrs O. Johnson (Bay of Plenty), 3 and 2; Mrs V. A. Bishop (Canterbury) beat Miss M. Simpson (Hawke’s Bay), 5 and 4; Mrs R. T. Laugeson (Manawatu) beat Mrs R. S. A. Hutchins (Mid-South Canterbury), 2 and 1; Mrs C. Isaacs (Bay of Plenty) beat Mrs D. Gillett (Otago). 5 and 4. SECOND ROUND Mrs Whitehead beat Miss Ormsby, 2 up; Mrs Cullen beat Miss Davidson, 2 and 1; Sirs Douglas beat Sirs Parkes, at the nineteenth; Sirs Kingham beat Sirs Fraher, 2 up; Miss Ryan beat Miss Eather, 4 and 3; Miss Sullivan beat SHss Grigg, 4 and 2;’ Miss Low beat Mrs Bishop. 3 and 1; Mrs Laugeson beat Sirs Isaacs 4 and 3.

PLATE First round. Miss Maxwell beat Mrs Allen. 4 and 3; SHss Hickey beat Sirs S Johnson, 4 and 3; Mrs Dickson beat Miss McHardy, 3 and 2; Mrs Seiringer beat Sirs Osborne, 2 up; Sirs Bearman beat Sirs Hames. 3 and 1; Miss Boag beat Sirs Hawker, 6 and 4; Mrs O Johnson beat Miss Simpson, 2 and 1; Mrs Hutchins beat Sirs Gillett, at the twentieth.