PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 80, 5 April 1926, Page 5

PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP

TRICKY APPROACHING

FIEST DAY'S PLAY.

The gusty wind of the morning turned to a spasmodic gale in the afternoon at Heretaunga on Saturday, and only one competitor, J. H. Drake (Miramar), broke 80. It >■ was almost impossible to stand still while putting, and the strength of tie wind was such that at the first hole, where a drive and a moderate iron shot usually, reaches the green, two full woods were needed by players who have the name of long hitters. The fifteenth hole, over the creek by the club-h-ouse, a 125 yds mashie shot, with a gale behind the shot, was the doom of many good cards, as efforts •to play a spared shot resulted in failures to get up the bank, while those who overran the green either got into the bunker then, or upon their return. With the wind across the sixteenth, many were the balls that found the creek, and in the endeavour to be up at the ninth many forced shots into the wind met the like fate. Approaching was the trickiest matter on the fast greens in such a gale, and it was a peculiarity of the effect of the recent rains that soft patches on the fairway round the greens pulled up short approaches dead, while, espef'ally where the green was raised in the centre, an approach that was a trifle too hard overran into trouble. Only the truest hit balls went straight, as the slightest hint of slice or hook was intensified by the wind. Taken . Itogether, the conditions were almost as difficult as they could be. Even rain would have been an improvement, as it would have steadied up the greens. The latter are somewhat bare of grass at this time of year, and there was little to hold putts on their line. Very few long putts were sunk, and short ones were, frequently missed. In such circumstances 173's qualified, the scores being:— A. D. S. Duncan (Wellington) 74 81 155 T. H. Horton (Masterton) .: 75 81 156 J. B. Parker (Wellington) 79 81 160' J. H. Drake (Miramar) .... 83 77 160 H. R. H. Balneavis (Welling-

ton) 78 86 IQ4 A. E. Gonway (Miramar) .. 79 85 164 J. L. Petley (Miramar) .. 81 83 164 L. D. Hurst (Miramar) .... SO 87 167 J. B. MacEwan (Wellington) 80 87 167 H. J. Shanks (Mornington) .. 80 87 167 R. O. Chesney (Hutt) .... 82 86 168 J. Duncan (Wellington) .... 83 85 168 W. F. Percy (Masterton) .. 82 86 168 Eana Wagg (Hutt) 87 S3 170 H. A. Black (Hutt) ........ 89. 83 172 The following tied for sixteenth.place:— V. G. Rhind (Wellington) .. 86 87 173 D. 0. Whyte (Wellington) .. 83 90 173 O. J. Wilson (Wellington) .. 86 87 173 The play-off yesterday was won by D. O. Whyte with 81.

STROKE HANDICAP COMPETITION

The following tied in the stroke handicap competition, the winner of which holds the Birnie Cup,* played for the first time last year, and then won by H. A. Black:—

E. G. Tqlhurst, H. Gf. Raphael, and K. Douglas with net 154. Raphael won the play-off with 78.