Auspicious golf debut by country Woodward teams

Press, 12 May 1980, Page 3

Auspicious golf debut by country Woodward teams

By 808 SCHUMACHER Country players achieved top honours in the opening round of the Woodward Cup inter-club golf competition at Waimairi Beach yesterday. Teams from Central Canterbury and North Canterbury were accepted for the first time this year and they could not have wished for better debuts.

North Canterbury, in spite of losing several leading players to its representative side which played Marlborough on the same day, showed surprising strength in its bottom order to account comfortably for Templeton and Central Canterbury held Christchurch, champion for the last four years, to a draw. In the other matches, Waitikiri and Russley had resounding wins over Harewood and Avondale respectively while Coringa and Waimairi Beach drew after the four top matches had all gone to the final green. Central Canterbury made an auspicious entry into the championship. Christchurch, was-without Simon Robinson, who was playing jn the national amateur championship, but Central Canterbury proved its capability and had a chance of victory as its top two . players teed off on the last hole. After nine holes the score hinted at a four-all. result between the two sides and although it finished that way two matches had dramatic swings in fortunes. Central Canterbury made a flying start. Graeme Gunn one-putted five of the first seven greens to early lead' against John Parlane and won well. Steve Parker had. five - birdies in beating lan Dobson, and Jim Davis accounted for Donald Hope at th® sixteenth. In retaliation Andrew Robinson, still a formidable opponent for any rival, beat lan Carruthers convincingly and Wayne Tucker made fewer errors than Toby Richards.

. Tony Vincent pulled back a two-hole deficit to be all square with Roger Stoddart with three holes remaining. He was aware of the need to win his match because; the Christchurch No. 1, John Wil-

liamson, was three down after 11 to Geoff Saunders. But Vincent lost his ball on the sixteenth and although he still gained a half on that hole he remained square playing the final hole.

Stoddart became the hero of his team with his last shot. Vincent was on the green in regulation figures but the Central Canterbury No. 8 proceeded to chip in from 12m and Vincent failed with his birdie putt. That successful chip increased in significance as Saunders lost control of his match against ~ his former club-mate, Williamson. A

Williamson, lacking control of his shots on the front nine, seemed in dire straits when three down with seven holes remaining, especially against a player of Saunders’ class. But an eagle at 12 by Williamson was the right medicine to induce his revival.

In an unusual lapse of concentration Saunders lost three of the next four holes as well to be one-over par and just failed with a ; 6nj : birdie putt ; oh the last green that may have' enabled him to finish all square with Williamson, and • give his new team an over-all win.-

Central Canterbury’s final hope, Bob Pirie, played competently against Des Turner but Turner played safe witlr some -testing little putts towards the end and finished spectacularly on _ the last green, chipping in for a birdie.

With Murray Brown, now a conscientious and _ mature player, overcoming his Freyberg team-mate, Mark Street', in the top position, Waitikiri beat Harewood, 6-2. The top six Waitikiri players were successful and the patent in the r middle order’has made the team an early favourite. Gary Maw, after seeing some superb approach shots and early birdies by Stephen Street, maintained his consistent touch to overcome a two-down deficit after 12 to win at the seventeenth. WAITIKIRI 4, HAREWOOD 2

M. G. Brown beat M. E. Street 3 and 2; G. L. Maw beat S. W. Street. 2 and 1; R. M. Farrant beat P. N. Shearer, 6 and 4; S. J. Paterson beat B. K. Street, 2 and 1; D. R. ; Griffith beat D. Marks, 3 and 1; M. Fry beat B. Smith, 5 and 4; G. McCarthy lost

to N. L. Bain, 1 down; M. White lost to J. I. Dixon, 4 and 3. CORINGA 4, WAIMAIRI BEACH 4 B. G. Paterson beat F. J. Poskitt, 1 up; N. Mclvor lost to D. J. Briggs, 1 down; P. E. Neal beat P. Magee, 1 up; J. Smale lost to D. Pickering, 1 down; C. Paterson lost to N. Shackley, 6 and 5; M. Ferguson beat J. Williams, 5 and 4; B. M. Alexander lost to J. Ellerm, 5 and 4; L. Lundy beat J. D. Gregg, 2 and 1. CHRISTCHURCH 4, CENTRAL CANTERBURY 4 J. N. Williamson beat G. C. Saunders, 1 up; D. N. Turner beat R. W. Pirie, 2 up; J. R. A. Parlane lost to. G. Gunn, 4 and 3; W. I. Tucker beat E. H. M. Richards, 3 and 2; A. W. Robinson beat L T. Carruthers, 5 and 3; I; D; Dobson lost to S. Parker, 5 and 3; D. R. Hope lost to J. Davis, 3 and 2; A. E. Vincent lost to R. Stoddart, 1 down. RUSSLEY AVONDALE 11 • • -P. ; K. Atkinson beat R. M. Vincent, 1 up; N. M. Griffiths beat C. R. Barry, 1 up; A. K. Hyhd beat J. Hanton, 2 and 1;

R. M. Sisson lost to A. J. Craw-ford-Smith,-1. down; P. L. McDonald halved . with M. G. Wright; J. R. Bierwirth beat J. Crawford-Smith, 3, and; 2; K. Thompson beat-B.' B. Trangmar, 2 and 1; G. Black beat J. Bowen, 3 and 2. TEMPLETON 2J, NORTH CANTERBURY 5J J.' Gantley beat'•L J. Ross, 3 and 1; J. W. Prebble beat H. J. Henderson, 6 and 5; B. Smythe lost to M. J. Stanley, 6 and 5; F. T. Hobbs lost 'to T. Monk, 2 and 1; G. J. Kirk lost to P. Rainey, 4 and 3; Nl Hilton lost to N. Robertson, 4 and 3; A. Doherty halved with S. Kitto: R. P. Newburn lost to N. McCracken,'l down. BLANK CUP Waitikiri 7J, Rawhiti i; HareWood S, Kaiapoi-3; Christchurch 5, Waimairi Beach 3; Templeton 5, Coringa 3; -Russley 7, Avondale 1. SIMON CUP ■ Waitikiri 6. Windsor 2; Harewood 5, Avondale-3; Templeton 4J, Waimairi Beach 31; Russley 5, Coringa 3; Haglej' 6, McLeans Island 2.