NEW GOLF CHAMPION

Evening Star, Issue 23094, 21 October 1938, Page 14

NEW GOLF CHAMPION

MISS COLLINS WINS TITLE BRILLIANT PLAY IN FINAL MISS HORWELL'S PLUCKY FIGHT [Per United Press Association.] NEW PLYMOUTH. October 20., Competing for the first time in the national tournament, Miss S. Collins, of Wellington, won the New Zealand women's golf championship to-day, when she defeated the Tasman Cup representative, Miss Jean Horwell, of Timaru, 2 up, despite a determined and gallant fight by the southern player, who at one stage was 5 down with eight holes to play. Better golf by women players has never been seen on a New Plymouth course, and possibly not before in the national title final. Both players returned cards of 76 in the afternoon round, one stroke over bogey and three better than the 79 recorded by Miss Collins in the morning, which at that stage was the best score ever made by a woman on the course.

In the afternoon Miss Colling completed the first nine holes in 37, one urfder bogey, returning bogey figures at each hole except the second, where she returned a birdie 4. Coming home she had one or two lapses and took 39. two over bogey. Miss Collins’s card was as follows: Out: 4. 4. 4. 5, 4. 3, 5. 5. 3—3 i. In: 5,5, 4,4, 4,4, 4,5, 4—39. Miss Collins was hitting with remarkable power throughout, and usually held a slight advantage. She hit one or two loose shots, but she invariably recovered wonderfully, and Miss Horwell was never ahead. Miss Horwell was not quite so sound going out in the afternoon, but on tin inward nine holes she struck a patch where par figures or better went down on her card for seven successive holes. She was generally too strong with her short work around the greens, and at times nearly went through with mashie shots,' but the opposite was the case occasionally with her putting. The new champion' is a daughter of Mr and Mrs D. C. Collins, both of whom have reached the quarter-finals of the national tournaments, while her father is equally well known as _ a former New Zealand representative cricketer. Her grandmother, Mrs W. E. Collins, was a finalist in the women’s national championship, and hot aunt, then Miss Vida Collins, won the New Zealand championship in 1910 and 1912. Miss Collins has won the Wellington Club title and the Wairarapa chaijjpipnship, but she had not before entered the New Zealand championship tournament. To do so, she and two other competitors drove to New Plymouth in a motor truck that is used on her father’s farm, because her ear was not large enough to hold all the gear they wanted for the cottage they occupied at the beach during the tournament. AFTERNOON ROUND. The first hole of the afternoon round was halved in par fours after Miss Co!liils Iliad recovered from the rough. Miss' Collins increased her lead by placing a magnificent wood, her second shot, on the green for a birdie four. Orthodox fours by both players saw the third hole haired. At the fourth Miss Collins's tee shot was well off the fairway and she half duffed the second, hut she made a great recovery to reach the green and halve in fives. Miss Horwell won the hole bank by placing a long wood, her second shot, firmly on'the fifth-green, and holing a tong putt. She chipped splendidly close to the pin to halve the sixth after being short with her tee shot, but at the seventh she found the hunker with her third, while Miss Collins, who had a poor drive and second, was mi for three with a magnificent iron shot, winning with 5 to 6.

Miss Collins topped her drive at the eighth and put. her second into the rough, but again she made a grand recovery to reach the green auo halve the hole in regulation fives. The luck of the game was illustrated at the next hole. The plawrs drove to the ninth green. Miss Collins's hall was heading straight for a hunket, hut it crashed into a tree and rebounded on to the edge of the green. Miss Horwell’s shot was in truer line, but kicked to the right and finished in a bunker on the opposite side. She failed to get on to the green with an explosion shot. and. though she ran a chip shot very close to the hole, she could not equal Miss Collins’s par 3. leaving the Wellington player- 1 up after 27 holes. Both competitors sent perfect drives and irons to within handy distance of the, long tenth, but Miss Hot-well wa« too strong with her rnashie approach and ran through. Miss Collins holed a bogey 5 for a win. Both hit perfect toe shots at the next hole, and both went astray with their irons. Miss Collins had an awkward lie behind a mound and lost the hole when Mi ss Horwcll chopped close to the pin and needed only one putt. That was the beginning of a string of devastating figures by the Tirnarn player, who won back hole after hole till'she was dortnio 1 down. She sent a perfect iron to the short twelfth, while Mies Collins was bunkered at the right and came out too strongly Each took two putts, and the margin was reduced to 4. The thirteenth hole was halved in par 4’s. At the short fourteenth Miss Horwell was well on, but Miss Collins was just short of the green and in the rough. She chipped out well to near- the pin, and both had almost equal putts for a half, but Miss Collins failed Playing wonderful golf under the tstrain" of being two down with four holes to go, Miss Horwell placed a magnificent wood, her second shot to within a few feet of the pin at the next, and, though Miss Collins was on in 2 and down for par 4, she lost the hole to her opponent’s birdie 3. Miss Collins’s lead was now seduced to 1 up. There was nothing between the players at the sixteenth hole, both hitting perfect drives and irons to halve in par 4's. . Miss Horwell’s shots were straight down the middle of the fairway at the seventeenth, and it looksd as il she might square the match when Miss Collins’s second was out to the left and she had to loft over a bunker to the green. The Wellington player, however, was equal to the occasion, and then sensationally sire nearly endec! the match with a long putt thar lipped the hole and ran out. Both took 5. and the match went to the thirtv-sisth hole. Mi'ss Collins completely onl-droye her opponent at the last hole. Miss Horwell. with her second, could reach only to the bottom of the rise on which the green is .situated. With another splendid wood Miss Collins was

on the given in two. against her opponent's three strokes. Almost stymied, Miss Collins placed a putt, handy to the lido, and Miss lionycdl look three putts, leaving Miss Collars an easy putt to win the hole, 4 to (3, and the match 2 up. CHAMPIONS TO DATE. 1393 Mrs Lomax Smith. 1394 Airs C. Wilder. 1895—Mrs Melland. 189(1—Miss h. Wilford. 1897 Miss L. Wilford. 1898— Aliss K. Rattray. 1399-Miss K. Rattray. 1900— -Miss K. Rattray. 1901— Miss 15. S. Gillies. 1902 Mrs liit!will. 1903 Miss A. 15. Pearce. 1904 .Miss 15. Lewis. .1905—Miss A. Stephenson. 1906 — Airs Bidwill. 1907 Airs G. Williams. 1908— Miss Christie. 1909 — Airs He van. 191<l—Miss Collins. 1911— Aliss Brandon. 1912 — Aliss Collins. 1913 — Airs G. Williams. 1914 — Airs G. Williams. 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918-No contest. 1919 Aliss N. 15. Wright. 1920 Aliss N. 15. Wright. 1921 — Airs G. Williams. 1922 Mrs G. Williams. 192,‘i —Aliss 15. Vigor Brown. 192-1 —Airs Peake. 1925 Airs Dodgslum. 1926 Mrs 15. G. Kerr. 1927 Airs Collinson. 1923 Miss Chrystal. 1929 Airs Dodzshnn. 1930 Aliss O. Kay. 1931 — Miss B. Gaisfiml. 1932 Airs J. C. Tcmpler. 1933 Aliss O. Kay. 1934 Aliss B. Gaisl'unl. 1935 — Miss J. Anderson (Scotland). 1930—Aliss 15. White-Parsons. 1937—Airs G. Hollis. 1933 —Aliss S. Collins.