Format change for Canty golf event

Press, 12 February 1986, Page 72

Format change for Canty golf event

By

BOB SCHUMACHER

A new format has been devised for this year’s Canterbury men’s amateur golf championship at Shirley from March 20 to 30.

In past years, the Canterbury Golf Association has called for entries and then worked out the three grades (senior, intermediate and junior), each of 32 players according to handicaps. However, a proposal put forward by the Christchurch club’s delegate, Mr John Fisher, to change the format was adopted by the provincial association’s management committee this week. The field for the Canterbury match-play championships will now comprise the 96 golfers with the lowest handicaps, and all players will hit off

from the same tees — in previous years only the seniors have used the back tees.

The top 16 qualifiers from the two rounds of stroke play on the first day will contest the Canterbury senior championship, the second 16 will compete for the intermediate (or B grade if the sections are to be renamed) title and. the next 16 for the junior (or C grade) championship. Players qualifying in the second 48 will enter flight competitions. All match-play contests will be played without handicaps.

• The appointment of Len McKenzie as manager of the Canterbury team to compete in the Southland invitational at Invercargill on March 14 to 16 represents the start

of his third year as nonplaying captain of the province’s representative teams.

When the Canterbury assoociation first created the position of non-playing captain in 1982 it was intended that the person appointed do the job for three years. Barry Cotton filled the position for two years, before business commitments forced his resignation, and Mr McKenzie succeeded him in 1984.

He will be hoping it will be third time lucky for him at the Government Life tournament in November. Canterbury finished third in 1984 and was runner-up last year. Two important positions to be filled, however, are the appointment of a new convener of the Canterbury selection panel and a new selector.