Golf Tourney

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XII, Issue 234, 15 September 1922, Page 2

Golf Tourney

THE AMATEUR BLUE RIBBON. DUNCAN DOES RECORD ROUND. RALPH WINS FOUR BALL HANDICAP. Palmerston Nth., Sept. 14 There was an improvement in the conditions tor golf to-day. The course was dry, but there was a cold easterly. The semi-finals in the prjtassioraf championship wore postpouec till tomorrow. The amateur championships were advanced to the second round. Duncan, playing Williams, did -3 in the morning, a record for the tournament. out in 37 and back in 36. i Williams played good golf for 78. Duncan l>eat Williams, 8 and 6. Sime beat Black, 6 and 5. Bidwell beat Crosse, 1 up. l Horton beat Ekstedt, 2 and 1The professionals’ Challenger ball match was won by Blair and Moss, equal, with 159. A four ball handicap was won by Ralph (handicap 2) and Rhind (han- . dicap 6), 7 up; Fordham (11) and Wilson (8), 7up; Stringer (5) and Reed [ (8), 6 up; F. W. Seifert (4) and W. , Seifert (2), 6 up. EAST WIND AND STINGING RAIN. ' TESTS SEASONED GOLFERS. I > COMMENT ON INDIVIDUAL FLAY. i (Special to ‘ ‘ Tribune. ’ ’) ‘ Palmerston North, Sept. 14. The weather was a factor in sorting . out the aspirants for championship honours in golf. Only a seasoned golfer cculd be immune to the influence of the keen east wind blowing down the Gorge and bringing frequent heavy showers of stinging rain. This factor contributed; to'Sime’s victory over Black, 6 up and 5 to play; Duncan overcoming Dr. Williams, 8 up and 6 to play; and Bidwill beating Crosse, 1 up, though in this case , tho issue w’as a closely-fought one. f In the other match, in a round match, ; Horton beat Ekstedt, 2 up and 1 to play. In a 36-hole match, at the 18th, ■ the respective positions were Sime 3 up - on Black, Sime doing tho round in 79. Duncan was 5 up on Williams, doing the • round in 73. Bidwill was 4 up on 1 Crosse, and Ekstedt, 3 up on Morton, ‘ Ekstedt’s figure being 80 and Horton’s r In the afternoon round Duncan won ■ the first holes, but at the Gth had falj len back to 5 up, then won tho Bth, halved the 9th, and won the 11th and » 12th. Duncan’s improvement was but- ’ prising, and proved that his inability 1 to putt previously was due to his conviction that he could not. Having re--1 gained his confidence Duncan putted , very much better, particularly in long ( putts. His approaches jj’ere too solid , for his opponent, while there w’as not > such an element of risk whether the i shots would find the hole. His approach ma shies were deadly without exception. Simes’* amazing confidence helped his ' victory over Black, who is a young play- • er, but opinion is held widely that Sime. 1 will got a shock when he moots Dunean. ‘ Black’s performances in the tournament are praiseworthy. He played good golf, , but wants a couple of years’ experience to steady him on the green. Eventually_ he should win the amateur championship in New Zealand. He is now only i a boy. He left for home this afternoon. Bidwill seemed the most unconcerned player on the links. Nothing worried him. He played good golf and was a hard man to beat. He and Crosse were all square at the 30th. Both made poor approaches. When 3 all, Crosse missed a short putt and put Bidwill 1 up. Horton’s weak suit was his put-, ting. It was thought Ekstedt, with local knowledge of tht course, would be a man to be reckoned with in the final, but Horton succeeded after a battle in winning 2 and 1. In to-morrow’s matches for the amateur championship, Duncan is expected to beat Sime, and Bidwill to beat Horton, which, if realised, would mean interesting match between Duncan and Bidwill. It is noticeable that all interest by the spectator.-, was in the amateurs’ matches. The opinion is held that pro- . fessionals arc not in the same class as Douglas who w r on the championship last year. FOLLOWING THE CUNS. MOVING MASS OF SPECTATORS. YELLOW HAT AND GREEN BONNET. (Special to “Tribune.”) Palmerston, Sept. 14. In golf it is a token of the popularity of a player or his opponent in a match, or ot the closeness of the contest, when an army of onlookers falls in behind No. 1 tee and solemnly and silently follows the play right round the eighteen holes. When the player has been many times a champion and his opponent seems well worthy of his metal the army and its solemnity and silence become intensified. Two such players were all square at the end of their first 13 holes at Hokowitu on Wednesday, so, in the afternoon when they lined up with their caddies at No. 1, the army was there respectfully waiting till the preceding pair holed out from the green. The caddies were girls, and the champion’s caddie wore a yellow hat and the opponent’s a green bonnet. While they wait the players make their drives whistle through the air in practice swings, and the army whispers and nods knowingly. “Hope he’ll be better on the greens to-day,” one whispers, referring to the champion. “‘What a dandy swing he has,” mutters another. Then the starter shouts “Right!” Instantly everyone galvanises into attention. Yellow Hat and Green Bonnet, who have been chatting together, fall apart, as supporters of opponents should. The champion has his ball teed up. He swings, tentatively measuring the course the ball will take. Smack! With a clean, sweet sound the ball flies away high and long to alight and bounce on the green distant turf. The opponent drives with a different swing and a deeper note as club meets the ball, and the ball goes off straight and low, and rising as it speeds. It alights to the left of and practically level with the champion’s for distance. The players walk after; Yellow Hat and Green Bonnet shoulder their heavy bags and follow; and the whispering army follows them, over the undulating fairway where the larks flit and chirp and the raindrops from earlier showers cling like the dews of a frosty mor-ling. “He’ll do the hole in 3,” whispers a unit in the ranks, after the champion’s mashie shot has sent the ball dancing on the green. “Bet you they 4 hole it,” another voice says. The opponent has placed his very near to the champion’s. On they go, players, caddies and the army. And the hole, after breathless moments of nutting, is halved in four. Driving for the second green over the trees, the onnonent pulls his drive, and a sigh, almost a moan, rises from the ranks: Green Bonnet looks anxious and says something to the opponent, who smiles and swishes at daisy heads. Yellow Hat trips away blithelv under her umbrella, and after them stealthy but irresistible follows tho army, the whispering army. While thev wait for the green to be clear most of the armv gathers near the opponent’s ball, which is well. to the left of the fairway, and. coming in the opposite direction, are the players. Far and faint comes a hail

“Fore!" and a voice nearby shouts “Watch that ball there.” Inen the army knows that a white pellet is hurtling down from the clouds and will fall near them. It half crouches and puts its arm over its head till with a sharp thump the ball lands just behind Now the opponent is playing his second and a great silence hovers till the ball drives gaily towards the green. And after the champion plays, on they all go, whispering. A sharp shower rattles down on the cabbage trees and the umbrellas. Someone runs and gives the champion an umbrella, wjjieii he hands to Yellow Hat when he drives for the third. With two umbrellas and a bag of clubs she looks like a goddess defying the elements, and her eyes are fixed on the champion. It is at the sixth that the champion wins the hole, one up. The silences of the army, become more tense, its whisperings more penetrating; the caddies keep further apart, it seems, as though to be sure of their partisanship. The opponent is playing splendid golf, cool and steady, and still one down till the eighth, which he wins, amid approving whispers, making it all square again. At the ninth, the champion, who has been showing anxiety, again is one up. He lights a cigarette. This is half-way. On the home run all goes well till the champion lays a stymie to the opponent. A stymie is the golf equivalent to a snooker in billiards. The other fel- ■ low’s ball is between yours and the hole, and you’re not allowed to*pot him. The opponent walked all round the situation. He knelt down, he con- ; suited Green Bonnet, but he couldn’t ■ do it. The whispering army knew he r couldn’t, but didn’t like to tell him » until he had had a try. i After that the opponent began to s worry, and after the champion laid i him a second stymie he and Green I Bonnet worried more because the champion was two up and three to go. ’ While they cogitated the champion adl mired the trees. Yellow Hat watched ) them. Even if the opponent won this hole, it would be hard work for him , to win the match with only, two more , holes to go. The whispering army was spread out like a huge fan of fans and J betted in their minds. In the silence the crash of a load of gravel being shot ’ into a waggon by workmen in the riverbed made a noise like other big 1 guns. The opponent putted—a muri muring sigh told that he had lost. ’ Now the champion was two up and two to go—dormy two in golf language, i that has been handed down from the . stone age. Thev halved the next, and that [ ended the match. The opponent stepped across quickly and shook the ’ champion’s hand hard. Yellow and Green Bonnet linked arms and strolled ‘ away. This whispering army melted ■ away and there was a blitheness in the I the air which could ho well summed up [ in the saying, “Well, that’s that!” • HASTINGS LADIES’ CLUB. 5 The draw for Saturday match is as 1 follows:— DOUGLAS CUP. Mrs. Woodward plays Mrs. Thorburn Miss Gray plays Miss Z. Well wood. Mrs. Hogan plays Mrs. Symonds. Mrs. A. 0. Wellwood plays Miss A. , Well wood. Miss P. Baird a bye. MURRAY BOWL. Mis Nicoll plays Miss Willis. Miss Connor plays Miss M. White. Mrs. Nichol! plays Mrs. Melton. Miss Braun plays Miss Richardson.