Golf summit

Press, 11 October 1979, Page 40

Golf summit

iNZPA-Reuter Wentworth, England 1 Winners of the four major ; international golf tournaments have assembled here this week to make the world match play championship a\ true summit meeting for the first time in its 16-year history. i Hale Irwin, the United. • States open champion, Fuzzy < Zoeller, who took the masters of the United States I professional golfer’s title, I and Spain's Severiano Bal-( lesteros, who captured the; British Open, head the 12man field for the $222,000 autumn classic. It is appropriate, too, that; Japan’s leading golfer, Is’ao' Aoki, should be defending the coveted title'in the year ■ when a Japanese whisky dis-1 tiller has taken over spon-h sorship of the event in the home of Scotch. Although a long-estab-, fished star on ' the tough ; Asian circuit, the tall mus- ’ cular Aoki was unknown in Europe and America a year ago when he survived four I

days of match play to win last year’s final. He came here early this year and showed his current form by finishing in a tie for second place in the BritI ish Masters championship last week, only one stroke behind Australian Graham Marsh, who regreted missing another chance at Wentworth. where he was the champion in 1977. Tom Watson the leading money-winner in America, I turned down an invitation for personal reasons, but the United States circuit will be admirably represented by young Bill Rogers (sixth in the list), Zoeller (ninth), and ■ Lanny Wadkins, tenth on I the money list, the tournament players' championship (winner and star of Amer< lica’s 1977 Ryder Cup triumphs. The South African, Gary Player, winner here five times, makes his fourteenth appearance, while Argentina's Vicente Fernandez adds the Latin-American touch, having qualified as British PG.A. champion.