Debbie Randell unruffled by heavy rain

Press, 17 March 1983, Page 30

Debbie Randell unruffled by heavy rain

Debbie Randell comes from sunny Nelson, but she plays golf in the rain like a native of Milford Sound.

Undeterred by a depressingly damp day at the Waitikiri course yesterday, she returned a par round of 75 to add the Canterbury women’s 54-hole championship to her list of Christchurch title successes.

In superb form from tee to green, and adequate in her putting, Miss Randell played with an easy assurance while most of her opponents struggled against increasing numbness of the hands and wetness of the feet.

Her convincing display burned off all but one of her rivals, most of whom were burning themselves off with wayward shots, anyway. The exception was Jeanette Ross, a thoughtful, precise

golfer, whose application and sound all-round game brought her a satisfactory return of 78.

Her three-round aggregate of 236 left her seven strokes behind Miss Randell but nine shots clear of the best of the rest, Nan Mann. Fourth place was shared by Annette King, Adrienne Bond, and Mary Sparrow. There were many hard luck stories after the final round, Nan Mann and Christine Skinner — who scored a 75 in the second round — both took eight to get down at the sixth hole; Adrienne Bond had particular bother at some par-3 holes; and Sue Boag, who started 5-6-6 to be five over after three, took a six at the par-3 ninth after two visits to the identical bunker. But Miss Randell displayed. maturity beyond her 19 years as she moved

serenely around the big, tree-lined course. She kept her powder dry by sheltering beneath a multi-col-oured umbrella between shots, emerging to hammer impressive woods from tees and fairways and drilling the greens with her fluent irons.

The Nelson girl stretched her advantage over Mrs Ross from the overnight margin of four strokes to nine after only six holes yesterday. Mrs Ross dropped four shots between the fourth and sixth holes, as Miss Randell confidently birdied the fourth. But the unruffled Ross temperament was equal to the challenge, and she calmly rolled in birdie putts at the eighth, ninth and eleventh holes to come back into contention.

Apart from coming unstuck at the twelfth hole,

Mrs Ross played the homeward nine soundly, showing tighter control over her irons. But Miss Randell, by then, was firmly in control and maintained her vigilance to the end.

On a day of rapidly rising scores, Miss Randell and Mrs Ross were joined by only one other player, the cheerful Moana Lavery, in breaking 80. The leading scores were.229: D. Randell 76, 78. 75. 236: J. Ross 79, 79, 78. . 245: N. Mann 78. 81, 86. 247: M. Sparrow 85, 79, 83; A. M. King 79,. 87, 81; A. Bond 79. 82, 86. 248: D. Woodhouse 85, 80, 83. 249: M, Lavery 84, 86, 79; J. Benschop 79, 83, 87. 251: C. Skinner 85, 75, 91. 252: S. Boag 82, 83, 87. 254: D. Ritchie 83, 84, 87. 255: S. Murphy 86, 82, 87; W. Head 86, 84. 85.