Canterbury misses trophy but golf record enhanced

Press, 13 November 1985, Page 30

Canterbury misses trophy but golf record enhanced

Although naturally disappointed to be on the losing side of the first grand final

of the remodelled Government Life golf tournament, the Canterbury team derived some satisfaction from its second placing. With last year’s titleholder, Auckland, doing no better than fifth, Canterbury became the best performed province in the national inter-provincial championship in the last four years.

In that period, Auckland and Canterbury each has had a tournament victory, with Otago succeeding in 1982 and Waikato winning this year’s tournament at the Otatara course, Invercargill, last Saturday afternoon when its No. 5, Paul Cadogan, mastered John Williamson in a putting' drama on the last green. Before its victory in 1983, Canterbury had won the runner-up salver the previous year and had finished third in 1984. The next most consistent team has been Auckland, which has recorded two thirds and a fifth this year to add to its triumph last year.

Brent Paterson and Mark Street, Canterbury’s top duo this year, have been involved with the side in that prosperous period, while John Sanders and Paul Minifie have been team members for the last three years and Williamson in 1982 and again this year.

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Street, too, had cause for particular delight. His more mature and disciplined approach to matches which threatened to be going against him, enabled him to fight back three times for crucial wins, two of them at the last hole, the other at the seventeenth against Peter Hayes which prevented Aorangi from beating Canterbury for the first time since 1974.

Street was appearing at his eighth successive interprovincial tournament and has played 57 matches, making him the third most capped Canterbury representative in the long-estab-lished event.

Three very distinguished Canterbury golfers were overtaken by Street, Colin Caldwell, Ross Murray and Bruce Taylor, with Keith Foxton and Ron Clements the only two ahead of him. At 25 years, Street is well placed to catch and pass the pair if his form remains good enough for future selection. His enthusiasm for the tournament is undiminished. If Street deserved commendation for his late resurgences, Paterson fully merited the laurels bestowed on him. His powers of concentration were astounding, as match after match he divorced himself from everything except the

BOB SCHUMACHER

game in question. In most cases, the game was not in question for too long. Paterson, aged 25, played with remarkable skill and control. He had three eagles in the week, once holing a No. 2 iron shot from 190 m on one of the hardest par-fours, and a hatful of birdies. He treated the holing of bunker shots and match-winning putts of considerable length as part of a simple everyday routine.

Sanders was at his very best in the semi-final against Bay of Plenty, when he kept his nerves in check to get a valuable half against a resourceful rival, Sloan Morpeth, who three times lost a hole to Sanders, only to regain it at the next. There was another good

come-back against Glen Goldfinch. Sanders won two of the last three holes to win, 1 up, and assist Canterbury to a memorable win against the defending champion. On the occasions he started with a flourish, Sanders never faltered. He was 4 up after seven against his Manawatu-Wanganui opponent, Bruce Stone, whose answer was to snatch his ball from the seventh green and drop kick it a la Hugo Porta. It was a very useful kick by the big man. Minifie, recognised as one of Canterbury’s best players on the greens, took a few rounds to become fully au fait with the putting surfaces. He was full of confidence after the first two days, won four of the last five games, and thrived on the intense pressure of the final day’s semi-finals and final. Before the tournament, Williamson saw his job at No. 5 as one of gaining the all important first win to boost the morale of his team-mates playing behind

him. He did that superbly for four days, winning six successive matches and striding boldly around the course in such quick order that he was able to spend a lot of time encouraging his team. His unbeaten record went on the final day, and the Canterbury captain was one of two central characters in an exciting, nerve-racking finale to the tournament, the other being Cadogan. Inevitably, there had to be great elation for one, great disappointment for the other. It went Waikato’s way on the last green and the first person to extend congratulations was Williamson, a very fine sportsman as well as a very accomplished player. It must have hurt deep inside but he never let it show. Apart from the weather, which, with cold southerly, winds and stinging rain, was miserable for all but the last two days, the biggest frustration encountered by the 14 teams and their supporters was the fact that they were in the heart of oyster country and the bivalved molluscs were out of season.