PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 90, 16 April 1923, Page 4

PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS

FINISH OF PLAY AT NGAMOTU

LINKS

FOUR TIE FOR SECOND PLACE.

(IT HtI«RAP».—SPECIAL TO Til Fall.) (By " Bajtt.")

NEW PLYMOUTH, 14th April. Shaw, of Hagley Park, Chrisfcchurch, is the new champion of New Zealand professional golfers, and four others tie for second place—Hood (Miram&r), Ham (Heretaunga), Clements (Avopdale), and Moss (Auckland). These finished six strokes behind) Shaw, Brooks (Hutt) being three strokes behind them.

The tournament was concluded ip beautiful weather, with a light wind across the course and a disappointing attendance of spectators. Shaw took a mortgage on the championship with his opening i-ound of 71, and, playing consistently, maintained his advantage. Pi'aying this morning with Ham, he did 78, Ham being two strokes 'better.. A little luck on the putting greens would have seen either do five or six strokes better. Both were making a feature of driving, which was 6eldom at fault. One sort of thing that happened was seen on the seventeenth and eighteenth greens. At the former Shaw played a niblick -approach, lying within two feet of the pin. An almost certain three was missed in this short putt, and the hole took four. Ham made an attack on the last hole and waß on the edge in a brilliant two. He then took a mashie approach and two putts. The morning round_ saw Shaw still in a commanding: position, The scores were:— Shaw 225, Hood 229, Cements 231, Ham 232, Brooks 234, Mobs 235, Butters 210, Blair 217, and Greig 263. The morning scoring'amongst the first few was uniformly good. Clements played with Blair, and did 75, though he hooked practically every tee shot. He made up tor his deficiencies in this direction with ■his brassy play.and approaches. . His putting was unsteady but improved on the way home. Three short, putts were missed in the first three holes, but had his tee shots been good he might, have done anything. His" home run was'done in 36, in spite of three unfortunate kicks off the lin». Hood went out in 39 and returned in--37, a very fine card, showing a six. He heeled a couple of drives, which got him into trouble at both holes. He had to chop out with the niblick, and was short of 'the green with the third, but at one of the holes he put down an approach putt and regained the stroke lost. Butters again did 80, the score being ruined by his failure to sink eight putts' under five feet. Moss and Brooks, playing . together, each went out in 39. The fact that luck 'was against them was. evident at several .greese, where long or approach putts lipped and refused to sink. Moss returned in 36, and. Brooks in two more, which he lost by 'getting out of bounds when tiring towards the end of the round and in a stiff wind. He got a two at the third when approaching with a mashie, and it cost him a stroke when a caddie rushed across a green where Ire was in the act of I AN EXHIBITION OJ DRIVING. In the afternoon it was decided to send out Shaw and Hood, who. led in ; the championship, and the crowd followed these. The two gave a wonderful exhibition of driving, Hood frequently getting the longer ball. Their' opening half wag not above the average of the other competitors, Shaw taking 41, and Hood 40, each having one six. Both got into trouble, but the recoveries were magnificent, and the scoring, as usual, failed on and round the: green. Shaw continued playing well, and came home in ,37, in spite of losjng a'stroke out of bounds and taking six at a bogey five hole. He got a two as "Moses," 111 yards, and at the next, after driving info an old., swamp, played a safe and brilliant recovery, and beat bogey by one. Hood, on the other hand, failed to get up the hill at the tenth, and took tour, and at "Moses" was short, got into the rushes, and took five; then a five at a hole where Shaw got his four. Hood played the next three holes faultlessly, and finished with two fives, to find that not only was he unable to catch Shaw, but was level with three others for second place. His round was 80, the worst he did in the competition. MOSS MAKES HIS RUN TOO LATE. Moss made his run too late. In the afternoon he did 74, coming home in 34 in nearly faultless play, and level with par for the holes. The first nine were played consistently, except the first, where bogey beat him. On the way home the only mistake was at the fourteenth, where he was on the edge of the green in one and took four for the hole. He played the approach with so much cut that it. barely moved. He> missed a couple of putts that should haye 1 gone down. His two fine rounds of the day, 75 and 74, won him the amateurs' prize for the best net score of the day. :He played from scratch with Ham, Brooks, Shaw, and Hood. " ' ■ Clements played a worse round in the I afternoon, taking 78. . His handicap was 2, and he finished with 151. Ham, from scratch, was third in th« amateurs' price with 153. Throughout the tournament he has played some of the best golf he has yet produced, but the greens beat him. Brooks did two good rounds, his drive being much improved and under control It was expected when he left that he would be -first or second in the championship final, but his chances, otherwise good in spite of health, were spoiled by the terrible five hole 3 taken yesterday afternoon after he accidentally turned his ball on the green. Butters did not improve on the afternoon round, and spoilt th» arerag* of 80's by taking three more. Blair and Greig did not ret«rn their cards this afternoon. ■ The championship therefore finished as follows:— . '■

CONDITION OF THE GREENS. The tournament has been a success in every way, and the only thing that prevented magnificent scoring was the state of the greens. Local players' are inclined to think that the greens aro all right, but a prima facie case against them ia established when it is realised that in four days our leading professionals have been unable to make themselves at home on them. According to Mr. Kirk, president of the Golf Council, what the greens require is a quarterinch thicker bed of grass. The professionals' opinion, summarised, is that the approaches are very dead compared with the green, and no run would carry a pitched ball through them. The greens themselves are too small, and in view of the nature of the approaches, which are soft, mostly' the result of the action of millions of worms, whose casts cover practically the whole course, they are not flat in any iuatauce, and are liable

to be tricky, particularly in areas within a couple of yards of the hole, which area is much faster than the remainder. It is necessary to pitch on the green to get up,' and unless there is a tremendous amount of work on the balls they go right through. The conditions suited Blair and Moss more than anyone eke, and the soft going should have suited Ham, by any possible advantage was nullified by the size of the greens, with certain slopes that are not noticeable. An instance quoted is the eighteenth, which appears flat, but when studied is found,to have a drop of two feet. The Dominion -professional championship is decided on the match play, but no match play occurred in this tournament, and thig. as is usual, left the spectators somewhat in the dark as to who to follow, for the leaders stood quite a good chance of being beaten by some brilliant round that might not have been seen. Players and visitors are delighted with the tournament, and at the links and elsewhere everything possible has been done for them by the officials, headed by the secretaryj v Mr. J. Btherington. Most of the players vrill have private matches over the week-end, and return on Monday.

Miaw (Haplay Park) 71 76 78 78-303 dood (Miramar) 76 77 76 80—309 Hani (Herotaunga 77 79 76 77—309 (AvondaJe) ... 79 77 75 78—30P VToss (Auckland) 82 78 75 74—309 iirooks (Hutt.) 76 81 77 78—312 Butters (Shirley) 80 80 80 83—323 3!air (Maunkakiekie) ... Did not finish jreig (Hawera) Did not finish