Australian flag flies high in golf final

Press, 11 May 1989, Page 48

Australian flag flies high in golf final

By

BOB SCHUMACHER

The Australian lone ranger among the four golfers remaining in the New Zealand junior women’s golf championship, Nadene Hall, of Victoria, blazed to victory in the final at Russley yesterday. It was the fourth victory in the last five years by an Australian. The championships hardly started promisingly for Hall. She left her passport behind when the Australian team left from Melbourne for Christchurch and she arrived a day after the official party.

But the visit had a happy ending. Hall, who was eliminated in the first round last year by a fellow Australian, Mardi Lunri — now a professional — quashed the hopes of a home town victory by Kerrin Starr in the semi-final, then disposed of the promising Waikato representative, Gina Scott, aged 16, in the final. Hall won both matches atjdJthe seventeenth and never relented after making the better start in both contests. -

Scott should have won the second. Usually safe and strong off the tee, Hall, aged 20, pushed her tee shot out of bounds. “I couldn’t believe it, I normally draw my shots, but then I came close to doing the same with the second tee shot,” Hall said.

In spite of the two-shot penalty, Hall halved the hole, won the third, lost the fourth through threeputting, but went 2 up at the seventh and never lost the initiative.

"It was nice being in front, perhaps it might have been different if I had been behind,” she said. Scott was not without her chances. She was still 2 down at the turn but should have won 11. Hall, bunkered with her approach, scrambled a bogey and Scott, from the fringe of the green and 6m away, three-putted.

Hall won 12 with a par and 13 most spectacularly. She was bunkered off the tee on the par-5 hole, but the ball was sitting nicely , and she decided to risk al-, wood , shot. Hallhit it* magnificently, chipped to/ within Im of the hole, made birdie. \ T Scott did not bow without a display of defiance. She birdied 14 from close range to return to 3 down and chipped well to half 15. At 16 she kept the match alive by holing a 10m birdie putt. It ended at 17, both players taking bogeys. Hall, a vigorous hitter with her graphite shaft metal woods, was threeover par and Scott fiveover par. Hall was the most consistent from tee

to green, hitting 13 of the 17 in regulation whereas Scott managed only eight. Hall’s greater reliability off the tee helped her to overcome Starr in the morning semi-final. Starr lost three holes in the early part, recovered to 1 down after 11, but spoilt good winning chances at 14 and 15. Championship Semi-finals: N. Hall (Australia) beat K. Starr (Chrischurch), 2 and 1; G. Scott (Kawhia) beat S. Farron (Manawatu), 5 and 4. Final: Hall beat Scott, 2 and 1. Flight.— Semi-finals: J. Mills (Australia) beat J. Ash (Whangarei), 2 up; S. Muldowney (Whangarei) beat D. Crouch (Australia), 4 and 3. Final: Mills beat Muldowney, at the nineteenth. Elimination.— Semi-finals: L. M. Aldridge (Paraparaumu) beat W. Doolan (Australia), 2 and 1; K. Pearce (Australia) beat J. Stewart (Otago), 6 and 4. Final: Aldridge beat Pearce, 2 up. Flight elimination.— Semifinals: T. Batey (Harewood), beat E. Keeling (Kerikeri), at the twenty-first; R. Hetherington (Australia).beat P.Aitken (Reefton), 3 and 1. Tinal:; Hetherington beat, Batey, 3; and I'.:'- ■■■''' ■. ', Second.l6 Championship (Semifinals).— T. Jeffrey (Australia) beat R. Prescott (Kaiapoi), 7 and 5; C. Knight (Ashburton) beat M. Rolleston (Omanu), 3 and 2. Final: Jeffrey beat Knight, 2 and 1. Flight (final).— L. Phillips (Blenheim) beat K. Williams (Kaiapoi), 1 up. Handicap elimination (final): J. Bell (Australia) beat R. Dryden ) Otago), 7 and 6. Flight (final): . F. McLaren (Flaxmere) beat A. Rodgers (Tauranga), 2 and 1. Third 16 Championship (semi-:; finals).— D. Wells (Foxton) beat T. Little (Rotorua), 3 and 2; S. Johnson (Kaiapoi).

beat T. Broomhall (Cambridge), 5 and 4. Final: Johnson beat Wells, 7 and 5. Handicap flight (final).— D. Wallace (Kaiapoi) beat M. Morton (Otaki), 2 up. Handicap elimination (final): S. Nicholson (St Clair) beat J. Hoddy (Nelson), 5 and 3. Flight (final): P. Sowden (Pupuke) beat K. Anderson (Hagley), at the nineteenth. - Fourth 16 Championship (semifinals).— L. Lindbom (Totaradale) beat M. Naish (Kaiapoi), 4 and 3; N. Vibert (Green Acres) beat T. Burt (Ngaruawahia), 4 and 2. Final: Lindbom beat Vibert, 2 up. Handicap flight (final). — F. Brooke (Auckland) beat T. Bremner (Whangarei), 4 and 2. Handicap elimination (final): T. Blair (Kaiapoi) beat L. Buchanan (Southland), 3 and 1. Flight (final): M. Joyce (Burnham) beat C. Hagan (Harewood), 2 up. • The excellent display by Kerrin Starr (Christchurch) and the plucky performance by a sixhandicapper, Julie Stewart (Otago), at the New Zealand junior women’s golf championships over the. last ,thrqe. days have won'them national selection. • ' ' , ; ’‘‘ Starr and Stewart were the two South Islanders in the New Zealand team of six named yesterday afternoon to play Australia in the “test” at Russley today. The opposing teams will play three foursomes in the morning and six singles in the afternoon. The New Zealand team, in alphabetical order, is: Lisa Aldridge (Wellington), Susan Farron (Manawatu), Siobhan Muldowney (Whangarei), Gina Scott (Waikato), Starr (Canterbury). and Stewart (Otago).

Scott, Waikato’s No. 3 at the recent Stylemaster national teams’ matchplay tournament, had convincingly beaten one of the finds from that tournament, Susan Farron (Manawatu), in the other, semi-final. The formula to success t for Scott had been her flying starts in the preliminary rounds, but Hall quickly destroyed that pattern by winning the first hole.