Harewood takes golf lead

Press, 26 September 1988, Page 26

Harewood takes golf lead

By

BOB SCHUMACHER

Stephen Street’s jubilation at holing a birdie putt of 8m on the last green against Rick Vincent (Christchurch) was matched only by that of his Harewood team-mates as the club virtually wrapped up the Woodward Cup golf competition at Waimairi Beach yesterday. Street’s long putt gave Harewood the vital half point it needed to down last year’s champion, Christchurch, 4(4-

3(4Only once previously has Harewood won the premier inter-club championship and that was 24 years ago, long before two of its present members, Hugh McLeod and Alastair Sidford, were born. Two rounds remain at Harewood on October 9, but Harewood has established a two-point lead over the field after maintaining its unbeaten record yesterday; it only needs a half against either Coringa or Waimairi Beach to clinch the series. Harewood’s present form suggests that should prove no problem. Harewood’s defeat of Waitikiri in the morning round and Templeton’s victory over Christchurch were among the more notable team results, although Avondale opened its account with a draw against the fifth-placed Coringa and North Canterbury matched its best result against Russley with a 5 (4-2(4 success. The surprises were not just confined to the team results. In the absence of Avondale’s top pair, Lucky Starr and Wayne Bowie, Scott Sibley stepped into the No. 1 spot and the Canterbury No. 1 and former New Zealand repre-

sentative, Brent Paterson (Coringa), soon found he was no sacrificial offering. Paterson played below his usual high standard, but nothing could be taken away from Sibley, aged 16, who won at the eighteenth and followed that with a second victory over a Canterbury Government Life representative, Keith Mills (Russley), in the afternoon. Tony Christie (Waitikiri) birdied the last hole from Im to halve with Mark Street (Harewood), and stay unbeaten, in the sixth round, and another highlight of the morning round was the resounding win by the Waimairi Beach No. 2, Fred Poskitt, who was playing his 100th Woodward Cup match. He has had 56 wins. The real interest, however, centred on the HarewoodChristchurch clash in the afternoon, Christchurch fully realising that it had to deal with the pretender to its crown. After six holes, the two teams were locked at four-all; after 12 holes it was still that score. Four matches finished at the sixteenth, Christchurch claiming three victories there through Geoff Saunders, John Sanders and Ken Collett and Harewood collecting one through its unbeaten No. 6, Brent Street. But of the four matches which went to the seventeenth or eighteenth greens, Harewood netted 3y 2 wins.

Wayne Tucker, three down to lan Walsh after six, fought back to one down after 12 but could not complete the recovery; his son, Brett, had no better luck. Against Sidford he twice levelled on the clos-

ing holes, after 15 and again at 17, but an unflustered Sidford gained his par at the last and that was sufficient to win the hole. Christchurch desperately required the top two contests, but John Williamson, at No. 1, and the No. 2, Vincent, both hooked badly at 17 — quite surprising in light of their excellent driving beforehand — and both lost the hole to their respective rivals, Mark Street and Stephen Street. Harewood had quashed prospects of Waitakiri winning its third cup in the last four years with its 4(4-3(4 win in the sixth round. To have a winning chance Waitikiri assessed that it must win two of the three matches against the Street brothers. In the end it won none, nor did it lose any; the three games all finished square. Points. — Harewood 7 (39(4), Christchurch 5 (36(4), Waitikiri 5 (33>/ 2 ), Templeton 5 (321/ 2 ), Coringa 4(4 (27(4), Waimairi Beach 3 (27(4), Russley 2 (23(4), North Canterbury 2 (22(4), Central Canterbury 1 (22(4), Avondale (4 (14(4). SIXTH ROUND North Canterbury 5y 2 , Russley 2(4 K. Mariu beat K. H. Mills, 1 up; J. P. Sincock halved with J. M. Crawford-Smith; D. Lavery beat P. Hoffman, 1 up; J. L. Allin beat S. Scott, 6 and 5; C. H. Nairn beat N. Bromfield, 3 and 2; G. D. Allin lost to A. I. McNish, 2 and 1; H. J. Henderson beat G. H. Turner, 2 and 1; P. Rainey lost to R. H. A. Bradley, 1 up. Central Canterbury 3y 2 , Waimairi Beach 4y 2 M. E. Elley beat S. Priest, 6 and 5; M. Williams lost to F.

J. Poskitt, 7 and 5; G. A. Stringer halved with G. Levy; J. Smith beat J. D. Gregg, 3 and 1; M. Robertson lost to P. Smith, 2 and 1; J. Langan beat D. J. Briggs, 3 and 2; T. J. Daly lost to P. J. Lindsay, 3 and 1; A. Sisson lost to R. S. Gourley, 1 down. Coringa 4, Avondale 4 B. G. Paterson lost to S. W. Sibley, 1 down; I. T. Carruthers lost to R. Goodman, 2 and 1; J. Louwman beat B. B. Trangmar, 3 and 2; M. J. Stanley beat P. D. Cunningham, 4 and 2; D. Cochrane lost to S. Chambers, 4 and 3; S. Codyre beat C. D. Prebble, 2 and 1; D. J. Murphy lost to J. L. McMoore, 1 down; R. L. Rodgers beat D. J. Gaudin, 4 and 3. Templeton 4(4, Christchurch 3(4 J. N. Williamson beat R. L. Jones, 2 and 1; R. M. Vincent lost to J. R. Gantley, 1 down; J. B. Sanders beat A. McCall, 3 and 2; K. L. Collett beat A. Bishop, 6 and 5; B. T. Tucker lost to R. N. Brightwell, 3 and 2; J. W. A. Whitaker halved with A. Hobbs; W. I. Tucker lost to R. McLauchlan, 4 and 3; I. D. Dobson lost to J. W. Prebble, 2 and 1. Waitikiri 3(4, Harewood 4(4 A. J. Christie halved with M. E. Street; M. G. Brown halved with S. W. Street; L. J. Cron beat R. H. McLeod, 3 and 2; G. Smith beat K. A. Lake, 3 and 2; S. J. Paterson lost to A. Sidford, 6 and 5; R. L. Hurley halved with B. K. Street; G. D. Cossar lost to I. D. Walsh, 4 and 2; M. J. Brownlee lost to P. MacLachlan, 2 and 1. EIGHTH ROUND Templeton 5, North Canterbury 3 > Jones lost to K. Mariu, 5

and 4; Gantley beat Sincock, 7 and 6; McCall halved with P. Mariu; Bishop beat J. Allin, 1 up; Brightwell beat Nairn, 2 and 1; Hobbs beat J. Cann, 7 and 6; McLauchlan halved with Henderson; Prebble lost to Rainey, 3 and 1. Russley 4(4, Avondale 3(4 Mills lost to Sibley, 2 and 1; Crawford-Smith beat Goodman, 4 and 3; Hoffman lost to Trangmar, 1 down; Scott halved with Cunningham; Bromfield beat Chambers, 4 and 3; McNish lost to Prebble, 3 and 1; Turner beat McMoore, 3 and 2; Bradley beat Gaudin, 5 and 4. Coringa 4(4, Waimairi Beach 3(4 Paterson beat Priest, 5 and 4; Carruthers halved with Poskitt; Louwman beat Levy, 1 up; Stanley beat Gregg, 2 and 1; Cochrane lost to Smith, 2 down; Codyre lost to Briggs, 6 and 5; Murphy beat Lindsay, 2 and 1; Rodgers lost to Gourley, 5 and 4. Waitikiri 5(4, Central Canterbury 2(4 Christie beat Elley, 5 and 4; Brown beat Williams, 4 and 3; Cron beat Stringer, 4 and 3; G. Smith beat J. Smith, 4 and 3; Paterson lost to Robertson, 3 and 2; Hurley halved with Langan; Cossar lost to Daly, 6 and 5; Brownlee beat Sisson, 1 up. Christchurch 3(4, Harewood 4(4 Williamson lost to M. Street, 2 and 1; Vincent halved with S. Street, Sanders beat McLeod, 3 and 2; Collett beat Lake, 3 and 2; B. Tucker lost to Sidford, 1 down; Whitaker lost to B. Street, 3 and 2; W. Tucker lost to Walsh, 2 and 1; G. C. Saunders beat Maclachlan, 3 and 2.