New Zealand Wins Golf Test At Melbourne

Northern Advocate, 5 October 1948, Page 7

New Zealand Wins Golf Test At Melbourne

MELBOURNE, Tue.—New Zealand triumphed on the second day of the golf test match against Australia on the Royal Melbourne club’s course yesterday by winning three singles matches and halving the fourth

Each country had won a foursomes on Saturday, and in the final analysis New Zealand won by four and a half matches to one and a half.

The results of the singles (New Zealand players mentioned first) were:—

After winning the 16th he had Bachli dormy two but the Australian fought back and won the 17th with a beautiful chip from a bad lie and the 18th when Hornabrook missed a fairly easy putt after having been in a bunker. GLADING IMPROVES Glading showed greatly improved form. His main need now is to overcome a tendency to putt short of the hole. If he overcomes this the opinion is that he will be the hardest of all the New Zealanders to defeat in the coming Australian championships. Glading. at the moment, is the longest hitting New Zealander. The accuracy of his fairway woods and irons yesterday was exceptional, but not once did he sink a long putt. In a keenly contested match Glading and Edgar were all square at the end of the morning round. At the second hole in the afternoon Glading went to 1 up. at the sth he was 2 up, and at the 9th 3 up. The New Zealander at that stage had played fine golf, especialy oft' the tees and on the fairways, but at the 12th he hooked his tee shot and finished in such a bad lie in trees that he had to chip on to the fairway.

B. M. Silk defeated A. N. Waterson, 6 and 5. R. H. Glading defeated W. A. Edgar, 4 and 2. D. L. Woon defeated H. W. Hattersley. 5 and 4. J. P. Hornabrook and D. Bachli, all square. The outstanding feature was' the almost unbelievable improvement in the New Zealanders’ play. Following yesterday’s performances, all are considered by their Australian opponents to have a real chance of winning the Australian amateur championship next week. Silk played a phenomenal nine holes on the outward journey in the afternoon. so phenomenal that it is doubted whether his 32 for the nine holes has ever been equalled in amateur match play in this country. When his match against Waterson ended he was heading for an approximate score in the low sixties. Bogey for the first nine holes is 37. and for the 18, 75. THREE PUTTS, FOUR HOLES Silk, who was 1 down after the morning 18 holes, seemed glued to the target after lunch, and his card for the remainder of the match read: 3,4, 3. 3. 4,5, 2,4, 4—32; 4,5, 4,2. The real feature of Silk’s afternoon round was that he had only three putts on the first four holes. At the first three holes he had birdies and at the fourth an eagle. The eagle came from a 50-yard chip over a bunker, which dropped into the hole. Silk gasped, his opponent gasped, and so did the watchers in the gallery. Silk’s putting was made easy by magnificently-hit irons, a number of which stopped only a foot or two from the pin. On the first green he holed a 4ft putt and at the third a two-footer. At the seventh, where he had a two, he put his iron only 2ft from the hole, and at the 13th, where he had another two. he sank a two-footer. He was five under fours for the first nine after lunch and five under fours for the match. Silk was the player who on Saturday was caught by almost every bunker on the course. VVOON’S SUCCESS Probably the most impressive win was Woon’s success against H. Hattersley. the Australian amateur champion. Woon was 3 up after an approximate morning round of 71 and still 3 up after the first nine holes in the afternoon. He was trapped in bunkers at the Ist, 15th, 16th and 31st holes, but came out each time to take only one putt. He also sank his chip from the edge of the green at the 13th. Hattersley seemed out of touch and missed five putts from three feet or less. He said later that Waterson had given him so many putts in the foursomes on Saturday that he was unprepared for longer putts in the singles and could not get the feel of the greens. Hornabrook had a great battle with Bachli and at lunch he was 4 up after an approximate round of 72. In the afternoon he began by dropping the first three holes. Bachli half-stymied him at the first and sank putts of 20ft and 15ft at the second and third. Hornabrook won the next two holes and turned 3 up. Coming home Hornabrook went to 4 up on the 10th, lost the 11th, when his caddie picked up Bachli's ball in mistake and the next two to be only 1 up.

From there he hit a poor iron short oft the green and took six for the hole to Edgar’s four. However, he was again 3 up after the 15th. and won the match at the 16th.