GOLF

Evening Star, Issue 21903, 14 December 1934, Page 6

GOLF

[By Slice.]

■A continuance of the-fine weather over last week-end made conditions perfect for ijgolf. At the Otago Club the semi-finals :of the senior championship were played, also a second round match previously unplayed, and the third round of the Balmacewen Cup. In the senior championship B. V. Wright defeated M'lntosh in the second round in a close game which finished 2 and 1. This is the third successive year in which this pair has met, and as M'lntosh is capable at times of producing great figures, a close match was expected. As it was, Wright had to sink a ten-foot putt on the seventeenth to,halve the bole'and even the match. The winner had a 73. Wright then met K. Ross, and he was put out by his more experienced opponent. Dy Rosa is a great fighter in match play, and it will be remembered that he went very close to winning the New Zealand Date at the last dominion 1 championships, being runner-up to A. Ei- Guy. . • . J. R. Laidlaw and J. G. Dick had a freat struggle in the other semi-final, lach player putts very well, and each ; hole devolved into a putting duel. .Dick had a commanding lead alter the fourteenth, being three up and four-to play. Laidlaw won the fifteenth, leaving' him in the same position as] in his match with Ferguson the previous week, 2 down and three to play. Dick’s drive at the sixteenth finished in'-an .awkward lie up the clay bank, and cost him ; the hole. Laidlaw holed a nice ; 3 at the short seventeenth, and the -pair went to the. eighteenth all square. *A half'resulted at this hole, necessitating going to the nineteenth, and .Dick, after playing a second rtq •of . the green, found himself with the . alternative of playing boldly for a stop 'shot or playing' safe , for a‘ naif. He elected, to , play for,' the pin, and ; the ball, struck firmly (in order to carry the sand bunker, trickled through the .'green and ho lost/, the hole 'aud tlVo match. ■ It is anticipated that the,final, between Dr Ross and Laidlaw,-will bo an exceedingly close; one. Each' has excellent'temperaments,, and as both play deadly shots, from around the gteen the: match will be very interesting. . Close margins resulted in the third round of the Balmacewen (junior) Cup,' R. D. P. Paterson defeating■ J. EC, Fitzgerald, 1 up in an excellent match, and J. K. Lemon beating A. Gill, 4 and 3. On the other half, P. S. Anderson beat E. K. Simkin on, the: last green and W. D. Taylor defeated L; E. Bullock, 4 and 3. Each of the seinrifinalists has been playing very consistently of late, and it is impossible to forecast who may win the cup. A St. Andrew’s, Cross competition was also played at Otago last Saturday, and in the senior division A.: TJ. Haegitt (7) and F. Leckie-. (8) tied with 1 up. Three players in 6.' Gibson, Ri W. Dick, and R. E. Hayward, finished all square. ~ Low 1 net scores were the order of the day at St: Clair last Saturday in » stroke, handicap. B.' C. O’Driscoll, 78r-4 —59, and A. P. Johnston, ;81— 12—69, shared honours in. the senior division, with D., C. Bennie, 70—scr—- , 70, not very far behind. In . the junior section, however, a new record was established, when J, H. Penrose, playing off 18: had a phenomenal. 74, giving a record shattering 56 net. Two fine net 62s were well out-of the hunt, in L. T. M'Cormack 76 ,and W; Ahlbrandt SO—lß—62. The members are quite satisfied that this, year has been one of the most enjoyable and successful that the club has experienced, and they- attribute this largely to the efforts of a live executive which has; done everything possible to make the playing of golf extremely pleasant at the Belleknowes Club, and to have ast many members' as possible take an active part in the.competitions. General regret therefore has been freely expressed of late that “ all good things must come to an end.” Such was'the case last Saturday afternoon when closing day was held under , ideal conditions and mixed Canadian foursomes were played for trophies donated by Mr A. M'Millan. The winners proved to be Mr A. Lucas and Miss B. Kinastou, who combined well to return the very creditable, score of .71—22—49. Lucas, who is a junior member, has landed the double this season, having won with his partner (Miss Read) the bogey foursomes on opening day., Hq has a nice style, although at times is inclined to force his tee shots, but when he learns to overcome this fault should go a. long wav at the game.; The standard of golf the club has improved considerably this last year or, two, and it is unfortunate in view of the large membership that the course cannot be extended. ' Gene Sarazen has most certainly created a stir in the, dominion, and in his talks on New Zealand players and courses he has been very interesting. It must be remembered that courses vary a lot at different limes of the year, and when Dunedin courses vary as much as 800yds in'playing length between winter and summer, it follows that a course cannot be judged on one round und ( er unusual conditions. No one could'say that the Otago links were in the usual November order when Sarazen gave an exhibition, as the dry spell which we had experienced had burnt the links up. , This is amply illustrated by the fact that in the qualifying rounds of the championship many' of the seniors Used a number 3 iron: at the fourteenth and seventeenth holes, distances of approximately 210 and 240 yards respectively. It is doubtful ’then,' if Sarazen’s opinion on tin afternoon's visit when a “ drought ” was on was worth anything. In any case, Sarazen,-at. the moment •of writing, is giving further evidence .of his great skill by making records up north, and it is rumoured that he is taking A. J, Shaw back to America with him.