GOLF Miss Hudson Beats Miss Percy For N.Z. Women’s Title

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 November 1949, Page 7

GOLF Miss Hudson Beats Miss Percy For N.Z. Women’s Title

INVERCARGILL, November 11. (P.A.) —Miss Zoe Hudson, of Christchurch, is the New Zealand woman golf champion for 1949. She beat Miss J. Percy (Queensland), 2 and 1, in the 36-hole final today. Miss Hudson’s win is particularly meritorious, as she had to beat the leading women golfers, not only ol New Zealand, but of Australia. Today neither Miss Hudson nor Miss Percy produced golf of the standard that they played in the semi-finals, when Miss Hudson had an easy win against Miss M. Bishop, of Western Australia, and Miss Percy won a marathon against Miss P. Borthwick, of Sydney. The afternoon round had some extraordinary features—more out of bounds shots and lost balls than are generally found in a final of a championship and fewer stymies than most players have experienced during the last 10 days at Otatara. The wind was much stronger than in the morning. Miss Percy seemed to have recovered control of her short pitches, which have drawn much admiration in her matches during the tournament. Miss Percy became 1 up for the. first time in the match at the thirtysecond, but Miss Hudson squared tne match again at the thirty-third. Miss Hudson sank a 12-foot putt at the thirty-fourth to be 1 up. At the thirty-fifth both players were on the green with their tee shots. Miss Percy tried to negotiate a partial stymie for a 3, but failed and Miss. Hudson took the hole and the match.

After the match the. prizes‘were presented by Mrs H. M. Smith, president of the Invercargill Ladies’ Golf Club, and vice-president of the New Zealand Ladies’ Golf Union. She mentioned the achievement of Mrs J. Ball, who, beside winning the Mellsop Cup and the Jessie Reid rose bowl, had also established a new record of the Otatara links scoring 74 in a medal round. This lowers by one the existing record of 75 established by Miss Claire Smith in 1938.