GOLF TITLES

Evening Star, Issue 22774, 8 October 1937, Page 14

GOLF TITLES

PROFESSIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WON BY E. S. DOUGLAS OTAGO PLAYER'S FINE RECOVERY [Peb United Press Association.] HAMILTON, October 7. Golf of an exceptionally high standard was witnessed at St, Andrews to-day, when the semi-finals of the amateur championship and the final of the professional championship were played under ideal conditions. The course was in excellent order, with the green very fast. Surprises have been frequent at the tournament, and the golf again to-day was not without its thrills and unexpected happenings. The professional final between E. S. Douglas (Otago) and B. J. Smith, jun. (Invercargill), provided a keen struggle, and Douglas, after being 5 down at one stage, made a splendid recovery to win his first professional title, 3 and 2. . .. General superiority on the greens brought to a climax by a putt which gave him an eagle 3 on the eighteenth green, enabled B. J. Smith, jun., to gain a lead of 4 up on the Otago veteran in the first round of the professional championship final. In the second round, however, Douglas made up the leeway and eventually went on to win, 3 and 2, THE PLAY MMIM ROUND Smith played the first half well, going out in approximately 38, to Douglas s stroke tally of 41. In the second halt Smith was not so steady, but seemed in better -form at the conclusion of the round.- He found the rough several times, hut, on the whole, recovered well. Douglas, although consistent, was not at his best, and did not get bogey at any hole. , , , , Smith was unlucky at the first hole, where Douglas laid him . a perfect stymie. Smith tried to chip over it, hut failed, Douglas taking the hole in 3. Smith evened up at the second, winning with a bogey 4, Douglas missiuo- a syd putt for a half. Douglas was blinkered at the third with his second, and his third took him to within 10ft. He missed the putt, however, and the hole went to Smith, giving him the lead. Smith also took the fourth in bogey 4, after running up his third from the edge of the green almost to tho cup. Throughout the round Smith s long putts were consistently within a foot of the pin. . Both made bad mistakes at the tilth, hut Douglas recovered better and took the hole in 4, leaving Smith 1 up. The sixth was halved in bogey 4 s, but the seventh saw both in the rough. Smith took three to reach the green, taking the hole in bogey 5. Smith was now 2 up. Smith also took the eighth. Although he was bunkered with _ his second he recovered well and gained a bogey 4. The ninth was halved in bogey 4’s, leaving Smith 3 up at the turn. \ 1 Douglas gained ground at the short tenth, where Smith sliced slightly. The younger player was unlucky, his third missing by less than inches, and Douglas took the hole in 3. It was Douglas’s turn to be unlucky at the eleventh, his drive landing Mm right on a divot scrape. His second went only a few yards, and his chip overran the green. Smith took the hole in 4. The twelfth was halved in bogey 4;s, and Smith had another win at the thirteenth. Here Douglas, after narrowly escaping the fairway bunker, pulled his second into the rough. He recovered -well, but Smith’s third, a long putt, left him inches from the cup, which was reached in bogey 4. Smith was now 4 up. Douglas took the short fourteenth with 3, Smith being off the green to the right with his tee shot. At the fifteenth the luck went with Smith all tho way, and he sank a 25footer for a birdie 3, Douglas conceding an Bft putt. At the sixteenth Douglas pulled into the rough sliglxtly ? but cleared with his wood. Smith just missed another long putt for a birdie, and the hole was halved in 5. Smith' played poorly at the seventeenth, where he was in the rough from the tee. His second failed to reach the ditch, and Douglas took the hole with a bogey 4, making him 3 down. The players had even drives at the eighteenth, both gaining good length, but Smith’s second put him sft from the pin. Douglas had a 15ft putt for an eagle 3, but he was off the line, and Smith sank the five : footer for an eagle 3, leaving him 4 lip at the end of the first 18 holes. AFTERNOON ROUND In the afternoon round Douglas gradually reduced Smith’s apparently overwhelming lead. After losing the first hole, where his tee shot kicked badly into a bunker on the right of the green, Douglas took the second when Smith found serious trouble. He sliced his drive into the rough and he hacked his second across the fairway into the rough well short of the green. Ho played his third over the top of a willow, but finished at the back of the green, and Douglas was given a foot putt for a 4. At the third Smith pulled his tee shot oyer a hill towards the second fairway, and when he missed a longish putt for *a 4 Douglas was only 3 down. Having lost two holes in succession, Smith faltered, and Douglas took the next four to become 1 up, aftffr Smith had missed a 2ft putt on the seventh for a half and another of less than 2yds at the eighth. Both played the ninth soundly to halve in bogey 4’s. Douglas was out in 36. Smith had by now lost the confidence which his early _ lead in the morning round had inspired. Tho tenth was halved in 4’s, neither finding tho green with their tee shots. Smith hit a long and accurate drive at the eleventh, but it finished on top of a divot, which had been loosely replaced, and his second went ballooning away to the right. He lost the hole, being 2 down. After the twelfth was halved in 4’s Smith put his tee shot out of bounds at the thirteenth. Douglas also played the hole badly, and Smith took 4 to reach the green. Douglas took three putts after a weak approach, but when Smith lipped the hole with his sixth Douglas won in 6 to 7. This is a good hole, though there have been many fours and a number of threes. Smith made a great attempt to reduce his oppon-

ent’s lead at the fourteenth, where his putt for a birdie 2 lipped the hole, and it was halved in 3’s. For the first time in the match Smith stymied Douglas at the fifteenth, but, taking his niblick, Douglas slipped neatly over and sank the shot to halve the hole in i. _ Smith missed a good chance of winning the long sixteenth, as Douglas had a bad lie in a bunker, and took two_ shots to get out. Smith, however, missed another 2ft putt to keep the match alive, and Douglas won, 3 and 2. Douglas recovered splendidly from some awkward positions during the afternoon round, and his win was the result of a fine fighting effort. Smith was off' his putting and uncertain on the tees. The luck also went against him. HOLDERS TO DATE Holders of the professional championship to date are: — Yen-. AVinner. A r enue. 1922—A. Ham Palmerston North. 1925—E. .1. Moss Wanganui 1924 E. J. Moss Auckland 1925 E. J. Moss Christchurch 1926 J. MTntbsh Wellington 1927 J. M ‘ln tosh Hamilton 1928 A. J. Shaw Hamilton. 1929 A. J. Shaw Wanganui 1930 F. Rutter Palmerston Ncrth 1951 A. J. Shaw Christchurch 1952 A. J. Shaw Wellington 1935—A. J. Shaw Auckland 1934 A. J. Shaw Wanganui 1935 A. Murray Christchurch ,193(5—0. C. Clements New Plymouth 1937—E. S. Douglas Hamilton AMATEUR SEMI-FINALS HORTON AND HATTERSLEY BEATEN SILK'S BRILLIANT PLAY A. R. Kitto had an even duel with T. H. Horton in the first semifinal of the amateur title, and, after being 2 down after the morning round, he played fine golf to win 2 and t. . . The other amateur semi-final, between H. W. Hattersley and B. M. Silk, provided most of the highlights of the day. The New Zealander, whose golf around the greens was the best seen in match play throughout the tournament, won a great game 1 up. Silk at one stage was 4 up, and Hattersley made a great bid over the final stages, but his short work let him down. When these two met interest was intense, as unofficially it was and international contest. Silk is one of the finest golfers in the Dominion, and Hattersley is rated as one of the three best amateurs of Australia.

At the end of the first round in the morning the New Zealander led 2 up, after one of fao finest rounds of really high-class golf in the series.. Hattersley without exception outdrove his opponent, hut it was on the short work that he lost strokes and around greens he was definitely overshadowed by Silk. His seconds to the pin almost always were short, while seldom did he punch his long putts hard enough to carry over the green to the cup. Later in the journey, however, Hattersley improved,_ but at the same time Silk bettered has drives, so that the struggle over the last few holes was intensely keen and very interesting. Both played great golf. Hattersley went out in 38 and was 1 up on Silk, ■who reached the turn in 39. Silk played brilliant golf on the way home, and finished in 34, giving him an approximate aggregate of 73, a great performance for a semi-final. In the afternoon round Hattersley went out approximately in 38 to Silk’s 39, while on the way home Hattersley’s card approximated 37 and Silk’s 39. Silk took the lead at the second hole, but the match was squared at the fourth. Bunker trouble for Silk gave Hattersley a lead of 2 up. At the eighth a brilliant No. 2 iron shot in the fairway reduced Silk’s margin to 1 down at the turn. The match was again squared at the eleventh. Silk stayed on brilliantly, and was 2 up at the end of the morning round. ,

Hattersley commenced the second round in just failing with an 18ft putt to gain birdie figures at the first, and this bad luck in narrowly missing long putts dogged him for the rest of the day. His short putting and approaching, especially with the chip shot, were weak until just prior to the turn, when he was 4 down, but he recovered some of his earlier form with his short work, and at the eleventh was only 1 down. Another lapse at the twelfth, however, saw him 2 down again. He should have won the thirteenth, but Silk nearly stymied, him, and the Australian’s putt was less than a half-inch short. The same thing happened at the sixteenth, when Hattersley was 1 down after winning the fifteenth following a remarkable recovery with his second from the rough, but the seventeenth was halved in bogey figures and the eighteenth in birdie figures to give Silk the match 1 up. 18-YEAR-OUJ PLAYER'S SUCCESS The endurance of youth was a telling factor when the strain was on in the semi-final between A. R. Kitto and T. H. Horton, and, losing the command he gained in the morninground early in the second 18 holes, Horton had to acknowledge defeat from the 18-year-old Kitto, 2 and 1. The game was evenly contested throughout. Neither had definite command from the tees, but at times Horton was short with his approaches. Kitto was not frightened of over-hitting and was well up to the pin. Kitto is a hard hitter, but no stylist. Horton early gained the ascendancy, hut Kitto outdistanced his opponent from the teo at the second hole and squared the match with a birdie 4 when Horton missed a putt. Encountering trouble at the third when his second found a bunker, Kitto gave Horton the hole, 4 and 5. _ Horton was unlucky here in not gaining a birdie when his third jumped the hole. Kitto was again in a bunker at the fourth, while Horton was in the rough. Both recovered well, but Kitto’s putt lipped the cup and Horton won in another birdie figure. Both players were on the green in two at the sixth, which was halved in fours. After a long tee shot to the long seventh, _ Horton topped his second, while Kitto was on the green a yard from the pin with his third. Horton missed his putt and conceded the hole. The pair obtained similar lies with their seconds approaching the eighth, and Kitto played a brilliant third on to the green and made the match all square in 4 to 5. Horton obtained a beautiful second on to the green with his iron, and Kitto pulled his to the edge

of the bunker. They halved the hole in bogey figures, making them all square at the turn. Owing to his club slipping, Kitto failed with his drive to the tenth, and Horton won the hole to place him 1 up. Both were bunkered at the next with their approach shots, but Horton went to 2 up when he holed out in 4. Holing a long putt for a birdie 3 at the twelfth, Horton increased his lead to 3 up. Kitto was unlucky here when his third lipped the hole. . The thirteenth was halved in 4, and Kitto reduced the deficit when he holed the next in 3. An excellent second. and a beautiful 25ft. putt gave Horton the fifteenth in birdie figures, Kitto running through the green into the rough. Having regained his former lead of 3 up, Horton continued to play perfect iron shots. However, ■on the way to the sixteenth Kitto outdistanced his opponent with his tee and second shots, holing a 12ft putt for a birdie 4. Erratic driving marked the journey to the seventeenth. Kitto hit to the lefthand bunker, but went through, to the edge of the green. Horton was short with a chip shot and missed his putt, the hole being halved. Approaching the eighteenth Horton was still 2 up. Splendid golf saw the players halve this in birdie fours. In the afternoon round, Horton and Kitto halved the first two holes in bogey figures, but at the third Horton encountered trouble in the rough and lost the hole to Kitto’s 4. Kitto took the lead in sensational manner at the sixth. On the green his putt stopped Ift from tho pin, almost a stymie for Horton. The latter attempted a 25ft putt, knocking down his opponent’s hall in 4. Kitto met trouble all the way on the next hole. The match was squared at the seventh, and the eighth hole was squared, and they were all square at the turn. At the tenth Kitto took the lead, 1 up. He halved the fourteenth with great putting, and at the thirteenth he was 3 up. He lost the fourteenth, however, and at the next he sliced and lost that. A great putt by Kitto and a missed putt by Horton decided the_ match at the seventeenth, Kitto winning 2 and 1.

Results of semi-final:— A. R. Kitto (Seafield) defeated T. H. Horton (Masterton), 2 and 1. B. M. Silk (Wanganui) defeated H. W- Hatterslej (Australia), 1 up.