Street gains Canty golfing award

Press, 23 November 1988, Page 80

Street gains Canty golfing award

By 808 SCHUMACHER Mark Street, an inspirational and influential member of Canterbury’s victorious five-man team at the Government Life national inter-provincial golf tournament at Shirley earlier this month, was the recipient of the Canterbury "Golfer of the Year” award last evening. Although prominent on the Canterbury scene for the last decade, it was the first time that Street had won the Gregg Trophy. The award was presented at the Canterbury Golf Association’s annual dinner for club presidents and secretaries at the Ellesmere Golf Club. Street returned to Canterbury golf this season with a vengeance after missing his first Government Life tournament in 10 years last season. Encouraged to make himself available this year, Street, aged 28, had to work his way back into the top five and he did that by winning his four games at the South Island inter-provin-cial teams’ tournament last month. He was chosen at No. 4 for Canterbury for the Government Life tournament and vindicated his inclusion by winning seven of his eight games, being the only Canterbury member to win both his

semi-final and final contest. Street, who won 13 of his 14 matches for Canterbury during the season, found a new meaning to team golf and he derived much pleasure in being a part of Harewood’s resounding success in the Woodward Cup and then in Canterbury’s magnificent triumph. At a time when he placed greater emmphasis on team performance it is perhaps ironical that Street should claim the province’s prized individual award. The Canterbury “junior golfer of the year” award, for the Christopher Paterson Memorial Trophy, was won by Waitikiri’s No. 1 in the Woodward Cup championship, Tony

Christie. Christie, aged 19, represented New Zealand twice in Australia this year, won six of his eight match-play contests for Canterbury, was a semi-finalist in the New Zealand amateur championship and won the provincial men’s foursomes with Lyndon Cron, last year’s recipient of the award.

Canterbury’s top golfer since 1983, Brent Paterson, won the Canterbury Vardon Trophy for the fourth successive year to become the most successful player in the competition. John Williamson won the trophy in its first three years of presentation.

Paterson’s adjusted gross stroke average was 72.1, the lowest since the awards inception in 1980, and he was comfortably clear of the runner-up, Cron.

Several of Canterbury’s foremost golfers, notably Williamson, John Sanders and Street, failed to meet the minimum requirement of 20 rounds. Of those that did the leading averages were:— Paterson 72.1; Cron 74.0; Christie 74.1; Karl Mariu 74.7; Mark Elley 75.2; Ken Collett 75.7; Neville Brightwell and Warwick Sherwood 77.0; Anthony Woodgate 78.0.