Winning opportunity eluded golf team

Press, 15 May 1987, Page 20

Winning opportunity eluded golf team

lf Canterbury could — have known beforehand -“that it would draw with Bay of Pienty-Thames Valley and beat Auckland in the Stylemaster Trophy - women’s golf tournament, would have considered — itself a top winning - chance.

• Yet after achieving » those excellent results at last week oagainst two teams, which them, have won »the last 12 New Zealand ~ inter-provincial cham- - pionships, Canterbury had settle for fifth, two down on its 1986 » finish. A loss to South Canterrm bury, a result which even j’ the southern team’s cap- -- tain, Barbara Langley, remight only hap---~pen once in 100 contests, ’’and a second defeat, by Z- Tasman in the final < round, cost Canterbury '.‘the title, even though both r -its other matches brought '" 5-0 victories. “The results against Bay of Pienty-Thames - Valley and Auckland were ■■■ redeeming features,” the Z Canterbury non-playing ' captain, Betty Fraser, said when reviewing the team’s performance. f, . “We were the only side

- to take a point off Bay of ' * Pienty-Thames Valley and our win against Auckland " was the first since 1974 ' (Canterbury’s last title LT success) although we have * drawn with them on other “'occasions.

By

BOB SCHUMACHER

"We could so easily have beaten Bay of Plenty. Jeannette Ross’s game was the decider and she was 1 up playing the eighteenth. She played what appeared to be a lovely approach to the awkward green, but it went through and she didn’t get close enough to get her par putt,” Mrs Fraser said.

Against Auckland, Mrs Fraser was impressed with the fighting effort of the Canterbury No. 5, Rachel Buxton, who almost upset the vastly experienced Polly King. Buxton was 1 down playing the last and was unfortunate not to square the match; her chip shot at the last hit the pin and stayed out.

The five wins of Adrienne Bond at No. 4 also drew praise from Mrs Fraser, who said that they

were among the bonuses gained by Canterbury at the tournament.

At No. 1, the international, Liz Douglas, had four wins and two losses; the No. 2, Dianne Woodhouse finished with a 50 per cent record; Ross, who missed the last match through illness, scored three wins and a half from her five; and Buxton, in a creditable debut, managed four wins from her six contests.

Referring to the losses, Mrs Fraser said that South Canterbury played extremely well but she felt Canterbury should have done better. “Tasman also played well. Vicky Collis lifted her game to beat Di Woodhouse and Trudi Thomson played strongly to beat Lynne-Marie Shaskey.” Shaskey replaced the indisposed Ross for the final match and was not disgraced in taking Thomson to the sixteenth. “It was her first Stylemaster game and she must have been very nervous on the first tee, but she stepped up and hit a big drive down the centre.”

Of the Canterbury team, Bond, who had experienced some lean patches during the season, found her niche lower in the order. It was her eighth successive tournament for Canterbury.