Smiles all round after golf

Press, 19 November 1977, Page 60

Smiles all round after golf

By

R. T. BRTITENDEN

There are few more respected and popular golfers in Canterbury than the Freyberg Rose Bowl captain, Bruce Taylor. And there have b een few more well re= ceived results than the success of his team in “The Press” Garden City Celebrity Golf Classic at Harewood yesterday.

But Taylor won, finally, on the toss of a coin. His four tied on 113 —- 31 under par — with lan Hazeldine’s team. However Hazeldine called heads and Taylor’s four now has the prospect of a trip to the Bay of Islands and two days at the Tourist Hotel Corporation’s hotel at Waitangi. There was some extraordinarily good scoring, with conditions yesterday far more agreeable than they were on Thursday. Those who played on the exposed new course yesterday had to contend with no more than zephyr breezes compared with Thursday’s gales. Taylor did much more than stand idly aside while Hazeldine called incorrectly. ' He had what was for him a strange round — only three ; pars and nine one overs. But there were six vital birdies in his 74 — three over on the new course. His team of Warren Wright, Robert McNay and Alan Gallagher started the day a stroke behind Hazeldine, Barry Meikle, Barry Newell and Owen Noonan jnr. This team did not have a net birdie in its first four holes yesterday, playing on the new course. But it came home strongly: at one of the par fives there were two net eagles and a genuine one.

However Taylor’s four, again combining very well, scored a 13»under 58, Hazeldine’s side a 59. Only one shot behind these two teams was a combination which had in it three members of the tournament management committee — Bill Lapslie, Bert Edwards, John Morgan and Richard Sweet. This team had the dis-1

tinction of scoring best yesterday on the new course, a 15-under 56. On the old course A. McLeod, R. L. Anthony, W. D. Gain and R. W. Pirie also had 56 — and this was a spectacular 17-under. If Taylor and his colleagues won the tournament, the major success was the raising of $6500 for the Jaws of Life equipment, a device demonstrated outside the clubhouse at the lunch interval. At the prizegiving Dr Morgan Fahey said the new equipment for the Fire Service would save many lives. “Its value cannot be measured in dollars,” he said. The Christchurch Garden City Classic organisation might have felt a sense of loss when the regular Russley professional event came off the calendar. But it has hit on a very successful formula in its replacement. It was an event in which every player was very closely involved.

As one leading amateur said, the pro-am at Russley had in it professionals who, in some instances, took little interest in the team’s event, perhaps through jet lag or boredom. But at Harewood it was a joyful yet very competitive event, with individual successes bringing the sort of cheering associated with rugby matches.

There was some fine scoring. McNay contributed strongly to the winning team’s success with a net 66 on the first day, a net 70 yesterday. And the Christchurch club amateur, Geoff Saunders, had two splendid rounds — 70 (3-under) on the old course on Thursday, and another 70 (l-under) on the more difficult new course yesterday. In all, it was a highly satisfactory exercise, with the organisation, involving nearly 300 players on two courses over two days, a great credit to those involved. Results were:

113: B. C. Taylor, W. Wright, R McNay, A. Gallagher; I. Hazeldine, O. Noonan jnr, B. Meikle, B. Newell. 114: W. Lapslie, A. G. Edwards, J. Morgan, R. Sweet. 115: M. Ormandy, N. Crowe, D. Harvev. C. Merritt; A. Chesney, P. Brooking. T Pearse, G. Taylor. 116: P. Gifford, D. Gold, M. Aranui, M. Neiman; D. Turner, B. O’Donovan, T. Campbell, A. Sail.

117: R. Winters, J. Gardiner, W. Dalzell, C. Walker; C. Hicks, N. Forward. D. Day, N. Olsen. 118: Mrs N. D. Cullen, D. N. Creswell, B. Brownie, G. Steel; B. R. Blackbum, W. Sibley, R. Collins, R. Leary; D. T. Archbold, R Mercer, R. Craze, R. R. King; I. Dobson, B. Barnes, J. Hopkfnson. S. Boanas; P. Williams, D. Connor, R. Hampden, J. Priest; P. McEwen, Mrs N. Jury, Mrs J. Schou, Mrs M. Tobeck; N. J. Lucas, L Bursen, M. Morgan, J Wingford. 119: B. E. Congdon, P. B. Neal, R. Hunter, D. McCrea; W. Askew, D. Green, G. Sudlow, Mrs W. Askew.

Best net.—Thursday: 57—A. Ineson, J. B. Lawson, M. W. Johnson, W. J. Hutt; D. Young, L. J. Dunbar, T. J. Quinn, C. Robertson. 58—W. D. Askew, E. Green, G. Sudlow, Mrs W. Askew. 59—Mrs S. Bishop, P. Steer, B. Grives, D. Allan; T. W. Jarvis, G. M. Hill, G. H. Palmer, J. L. White. Friday: 56—A. McLeod, R L. Anthony, W. D. Gain, R. W. Pirie. 58—S. Carr, R. Breakspear, E. Hill, D. Manson; S. Bidwell, M. C. Bidwell, N. S. Bidwell, C. H. Bidwell; R. Rule, A. Eathorne, J. G. Davies, C. Sumner; C. Hibbs, R. B. Alexander, M. C. Snell, C. Voice.