Top golfers mown down in amateur championship

Press, 11 April 1977, Page 22

Top golfers mown down in amateur championship

By

R. T. Brittender

Shirley was like a shooting gallery at the week-end, but they were not golfing bunnies being knocked over in rapid succession: the first two days of the Canterbury match-play championship yielded a string of upsets.

Those who came through the fog which was cast over form were three young Christchurch players — Simon Robinson. Mark Street and John Williamson —and the experienced Westport man. Fin Hobbs, They are in this morning’s semifinals.

Those who f 11 at the first hurdle — the qualifying rounds on Saturday — included two members of last year’s winning Freyberg Rosebowl team. Geoff Saunders and Dennis Beggs. Another former champion, Murray Brown, and John Allin. a strong provincial candidate, also failed to get into the match-play.

In the first round f matches the tournament titleholder, James Angus, went down, and so did the Canterbury captain, Bruce Taylor who won this event in 1971 and 1972. The top qualifier, lan Carruthers, also lost h.s first match. These unexpected events, and the withdrawal of Angus, will give unusual interest to the announcement this evening of the Canterburv team for next month’s Rosebowl tournament at Titirangi.

Saunders was a little un-l lucky not to qualify. He says his wrist injury is improv-: ing, but it is costing him something in length and per-, haps in confidence as he nurses it. He withdrew from! yesterday afternoon’s match. He was unfortunate not to be closer to qualifying. The, lowest qualifier had a 36bole score of 154; Saunders finished with 155. and that included a self-inflicted wound. He scored 76 in the morning, but he signed his m_arked card as having had a 11 —and the 77 had to remain.

Beggs, a quietly efficient! player as a rule, blew his j chance in 50 minutes of pur-' gatory. It began with him; getting out of bounds at the! fourth and compounding the! felony by three-putting for' an B.'

In an incredible run, he! dropped four shots at the i next hole, and four more on! the sixth—ll shots in three! holes. This was after a fine; morning round of 71, equal to par for the present tempo-! rary lay-out, one which j makes the back paddock al-' most unrecognisable, with its fences, high-wire netting! screen, and a drainpipe f'°l size of the Homer tunnel: being pushed across it. The remainder of the ! course played well, and although there was some drizzle yesterday morning, a fresh wind in the after-1 noon, conditions generally! were good.

Carruthers, a stylish young) golfer, who is head green-1 keeper at Templeton, led the! qualifiers, with Robinson.) with a modest 148. He succumbed in the match-play to! the strongly-built and aggressive Williamson, who: started well and never looked! like letting go. He played with impressive accuracy and power to win at 15 with his score two under the card.

A very talented boy of 16, Eric Hanton. played almost flawless golf to beat the match-hardened lan Dobson i “He didn’t get a putt, yet he! was one under — he’s got to I go a long way” said a very; impressed Dobson, whose! own score was only 72.

Hanton, a slightly-built i .youngster with a very full i swing, kept hitting the! greens with machine-like: regularity. Unfortunately, he; did not go a long way, this! j time. Against Williamson in| . the afternoon he seemed to 'lose concentration and appli-j i cation, after a good start. j • The defeat of Angus and! ! Taylor had the club-house! i buzzing at lunch. Brent! Street, only 17 and still at school, beat Angus. He! i played attractive, sound golf. with every evidence of calm.l Angus, not at his best, had! Ito work desperately hard to (keep in touch with Street land finally failed with a j fluffed pitch shot at 18, into I a bunker.

Robinson played with extraordinary efficiency in beating Taylor. He dropped shots at 7 and 8 but finished two under against a Taylor who had trouble with his chipping and putting — and errors in his short game are as rare as slow half-volleys from Dennis Lillee. Robinson marched steadily to a fourup lead, lost the short ninth to a fine birdie, but at 10 holed a 10-putt for an eagle 3.

His putting generally wasl very sound; there was excellent judgment of pace and line, in fact his whole game wore the stamp of authority. Taylor fought hard, but a few wayward shots made his

task the more difficult. Hobbs had a tremendous struggle with 20-year-old John Parlane, another player of particular promise. It went to the nineteenth, after a nip-and-tuck battle fought, in the late stages, on classical lines. From 6 to 19 inclusive, they halved only two holes; but there were five birdies on the back half, three of them by Parlane. This young man is probably the longest hitter at the tournament and there was some startling evidence of his power. At the second hole he had to pitch over the greenside bunker at the left after a massive drive: at the very long sixteenth, he was in with a sand-wedge third. He has a good, modern) swing, and unusual potential.) But Hobbs brought to bear! his years of experience, his! sustained accuracy, and his: great match-play tempera-1 ment. Hobbs it was who, as! leader of the minority party,! “The United Nations,” was! the giant-killer of last year’s! Freyberg, with victories over Mike Nicholson, Rod Barltrop and Paul Hartstone.

He had a few loose shots against Parlane, but recovered well, and he played the nineteenth very soundly. There Parlane hooked his iron to the green and had so unhappy a lie that he elected to try to run through I a bunker instead of pitching 'over it. It made Hobbs’s ■ final task easy. Robinson again showed 'good form in defeating ißicky Vincent, although Vincent came back with a win •at 12 and another with a fine, birdie at 13. The Street battle was a very good contest. Two years ago Mark Street beat his .older brother, Stephen, in a |semi-final of the match-play 'tournament. This time he 'accounted for his twin — although Brent is the senior. ' They are unmistakeably

t wins, not only in appearance but in technique. It is well that Mark is taller than Brent —it helps immeasurably in identification. If there is any other difference, it is probably in Brent’s more obvious composure. It is clear that much will be seen of the Streets in Canterbury golf in the next few years — Stephen is at present in Australia with the national junior team. The twins’ game yesterday was really determined by a spell of magical putting by Mark, who swung the game his way decisively by halving 10 in birdies, scoring a birdie at 11, holing a fine saving putt for his half at 12 and then sinking another beauty for a birdie at 13.

i Brent had especial probpems. He lost the head of his putter. It had been loose and Ihe took it off after putting at The seventh. He jammed it back on again to win the next hole, then borrowed (another putter for the rest of The round. He fought back after Mark had had his great putting streak, but his drive at 17 put him in the ditch, and that was that. Results: QUALIFYING ROUND 148—1. T. Carruthers 77, 71; S. S. Robinson 75, 73. 149— B. Street 76 73. 150— E. Hanton 74, 76; R. M. Vincent 73,- 77; F. T. Hobbs 77, 73. 151— .1. N. Williamson 74. 77; .1. 11. Parlane 76, 75; M. Street 77. 74. 152— D. Dobson 75, 77; W. I. Tucker 76, 76; B. C. Taylor 78, 74: J. M. Angus 77, 75. 153: J. Carbines 81, 72; R. P. Bell 72, 81. 154—F. D. Pankhurst 77, 77. MATCH PLAY I First round.—Williamson beat I Carruthers 5 and 3: Hanton beat I Dobson 3 and 2; M. Street beat’ I Bell. 3 and 2: B. Street beat Angus 2 up: Hobbs beat Tucker 13 and 2 : Vincent beat Carbines 15 and 4: Parlane beat Pankhurst ' 3 and 2; Robinson beat Taylor i 4 and 3.

Second round. — Williamson beat Hanlon 4 and 3: M. Street beat B. Street .3 and 1; Hobbs beat Parlane at the 19th; Robinson beat Vincent 3 and 2.