Otago gets off to strong start in Russell Grace golf

Press, 6 May 1980, Page 46

Otago gets off to strong start in Russell Grace golf

PA

Hastings

Otago, Northland, and Bay of Plenty-Thames Valley scored victories in the opening round of the 1980 Russell Grace women’s interprovincial teams’ championship which began at the Hastings Golf Club’s Bridge Pa course yesterday.

The bottom six teams in last year’s championship at Lochiel — Bay of PlentyThames Valley, Southland, Otago, Northland, Taranaki and Nelson-West CoastMarlborough— played in the first round yesterday in brilliant, fine conditions.

The Otago team, resplendent in tartan knickerbockers, triumphed 4-1 over Taranaki, Northland scraped home 3-2 against NelsonWest Coast - Marlborough, and Bay of Plenty - Thames Valley beat Southland 3| to

UThe other seven teams m the championship take to the course today with Northland taking the second round bye. This morning’s second round sees two of the favoured teams, Auckland and Canterbury, pitted against each other, and the outcome of this match could have a significant bearing on the final results.

Canterbury finished third in ■ last year’s event and it should prove a worthy opponent against the strong Auckland side which is seeking its fifth consecutive victory.

Otago made a strong start to. the tournament with its 4-1 victory over Taranaki, but today will meet stronger opposition in the host province, Hawke’s Bay-Poverty Bay.

Otago was in command throughout, after leading at the halfway stage in four of the five games.

Its . victory was spearheaded by two big 7 and 6 wins by their No. 2 and No. 5 players, Jan Scandrett and Islay Macdonald, and this served as a confidence booster to their fellow team members whose matches were still alive.

The 19-year-old Miss Scandrett, No. 4 in this year’s New Zealand junior side, turned five-up in her match

against Taranaki’s Miss Deirdre Bryant, in spite of being three over the card after five holes. Miss Bryant was having difficulty with her approach shots and around the greens, unlike Miss Scandrett who was on top of her game and fired birdies at the 10th, 11th and 12th holes to seal the match.

The Otago No.. 5, Mrs Macdonald, competing in her seventh Russell Grace championship, started her match against Miss Ann Kitchin with a double bogey seven, but then settled down to play par golf to secure her victory. The redheaded Melanie Irvine, playing her fifth Russell Grace championship and at No. 1 for Otago for the third consecutive year, turned three up against Mrs Joy Urbahn and was never pressed on the back nine.

Although she three-putted both the 11th and 13th holes, Miss. Irvine made a safe par at the short 16th to secure her win and the team victory.

The only Otago player to drop her match was the No; 3, Mrs Marion de Lambert, who was beaten 2 and 1 by Mrs Diana Rowe.

Neither player got their game together and Mrs de Lambert summed up the 'match by saying: “Diana just scrambled a bit better than I Northland got its victory at the expense of a missed metre putt by the NelsonWest Coast-Marlborough No. 12. Judith Parkes, on the 18th [green.

Mrs Parkes had a chance to win the match one-up on the 18th green and secure a team half, but her putt from a metre was wide' of the hole — giving Northland a win in a tense finish.

The Bay of Plenty-Thames Valley match against Southi land produced the first

major upset of the tournament when the latter’s Mrs Liz Douglas thrashed a fellow New Zealand representative, Mrs Brenda Rhodes, 5 and 4. Mrs Douglas made a strong start to the match, winning the first two holes, and at the half-way stage was two under the card and six-up on Mrs Rhodes, having made birdies at the second and sixth holes. Mr Rhodes, suffering from influenza, had putting lapses throughout the match, and although she won the 11th and 13th holes the deficit was too big to overcome. The Bay of Plenty-Thames Valley No. 2, Vivienne Fraher, chalked up her third consecutive Russell Grace victory against the 1975 New Zealand matchplay champion, Robin Low. Mrs Fraher. who plavs at Taupo, was on top of her game from the start and after nine holes, was five up against Miss Low. She rapped in a birdie two at the par-three 13th to finish the match — completing the round one under the card. One of the more exciting games was between the No. 3 players, Kerry Allen and Diane Hodson. Southland’s Miss Allen, a trialist for this year’s New Zealand junior side, turned two down against the 19-vear-old Miss Hodson, but fought back to win both the 16th and 17th holes to approach the last all-square. Both players narrowly missed birdie chances at the 18th and the match finished all square. Round one results.—

Otago 4. Taranaki 1;; Northland 3, Nelson-West Coast-Marlborough 2; Bay of Plenty-Thames Valley 3|, Southland IJ.