Williamson attempting unusual golfing feat

Press, 6 May 1983, Page 28

Williamson attempting unusual golfing feat

By

BOB SCHUMACHER

John Williamson has a chance next week to accomplish an unusual golfing feat — winning the amateur stroke championship of two countries in the one year. Last month, the Canterbury Freyberg representative won the Malaysian, championship from 130 competitors; next Monday to Thursday he will attempt to add the national stroke title to his growing list of achievements.

The eight-first New Zealand amateur championship at Titirangi will be sponsored for the first time. With the introduction of Spalding as its sponsor, the event has had a change in format The tournament will last seven days and will feature two championships. Instead

of stroke qualifying rounds to determine the final field for the match-play event, the new format will allow for 72 holes of stroke play to discover the national champion. Then the top 32 golfers at the end of the four rounds will start their match-play duels to find the amateur champion. This year’s championship has drawn a full field of 120 players and Williamson’s task of capturing either title will be just as difficult as it was in Kuala Lumpur. He will not be helped by the fact that he has never played at Titirangi, but playing a strange course has not unduly handicapped him in the past. . Less than a fortnight ago, he entered the Hororata open to see how he would

fare on a course new to him. The result was a threestroke victory and two be-low-par rounds of 70. Williamson has played in the national championship on three previous occasions, his best effort being in 1981 when he reached the semifinals at Timaru. He said yesterday that his approach to next week’s strenuous activity would be the same as usual: “I’m looking forward to the golfing week and will be out there to enjoy myself.”

The Canterbury assault on the national titles will be a formidable one. Only John Sanders, who will captain the . provincial eight-man team against Buller-West-land at Greymouth this week-end, will be missing from last year’s Canterbury Freyberg team.