GOLF TOPICS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23017, 20 April 1938, Page 19

GOLF TOPICS

AUCKLAND TOURNEY SOME SURPRISE RESULTS FINE PLAY OF DAVIDGE BY THE ROVER The Auckland provincial golf championship which was concluded on Monday will go down in the history of the game as the tournament of surprises. B. G. Thomson, H. D. Brinsden and J. H. Young were strong favourites, but Young was the only one of the trio to survive the first round. After his brilliant round of 69 it was expected that Thomson would be the hardest to beat, but his golf was not of the same high standard in the first round of the match-play stages. However, M. Fraser-Smith played very steady golf and on the run of the play he thoroughly deserved his win. He was 2 up with three holes to play, and although Thomson squared the match at the 17th, Fraser-Smith won the game three holes later when he obtained a great 3. When H. D. Brinsden met A. L. McLean the pair commenced to play in heavy rain, and casual water was lying on a. number of greens. Brinsden's putting style is not suitable to heavy greens and in the early stages his green work cost him chances. On the other hand. McLean revelled in the heavy goinc. and although he made mistakes over the final holes, lie recovered with accurate chip-shots. This was the second time the pair have met in championship golf and McLean has been successful on each occasion. In 1935 he beat Brinsden in the semi-final of the jubilee championship at Titirangi and he went on to win the title. Prior to the tournament J. H. Young was regularly returning scores in the low seventies, but he was eliminated by L. J. Bryant in the second round. Bryaut had the better of the luck on the greens, as he stymied his opponent on more than one occasion, but Young missed his opportunity 011 the 17th green when ho failed to hole a reasonable length putt. Bryant lias restricted his back swing with the result that ho now hits fewer loose shots than formerly. Possibly he has gone a little to the other extreme, but once he strikes the happy medium his game will certainly show a marked improvement. Sacrificing length lor accuracy is a step in the right direction, but it was noticeable in' his match with B. H. Menzies that Bryant was swinging just a little too lazily from the tees.

The new champion, W. J. Davidge, played fine golf throughout the tournament, and in not one of his matches did he appear to be in any danger of being defeated. He made mistakes, but he had such a wonderful range with his irons that he was in a position to recover. This happened at the 12th hole both in the semi-final and the final. Against A. E. Browne, Davidge's drive finished in the rough, his second was also in the rough, and he then hit a No. 4 iron to within four feet of the pin. Again in the final he recovered with a brilliant long iron after mishitting two shots. The runner-up, Menzies, won the title in 1931, and in 1935 he was beaten by Thomson in the final. On four other occasions he was defeated in the semifinal by the player who went 011 to win the championship. In th<4 earlier rounds Menzies' short game was good, but in the final he was short with every chip and putt for most of the round.

HANDICAP EVENT SUCCESS OF MAC IN DOE The provincial handicap event provided many interesting matches, and the winner, H. Macindoe, is to be congratulated on his effort. He was among the last to qualify and he had close matches to reach the final. In the first round he defeated H. li. Lusk, four times winner of the provincial championship, and the veteran, who was conceding six strokes, did well to take the match to the last green. Maciridoo was forced to play two extra holes before he accounted for J. D. Shanley, and he won his semi-final and final on the 17t.1i green. It was rather remarkable- that the semi-finalists in both the championship and the handicap event belonged to lour different clubs, and the prizes were fairly well distributed. Although defeated in the main event, Thomson won the scratch and net medals and the Stabloford bogey from scratch. Apart from the championship, a bogey handicap and a four-ball match were won by Titirangi player?;. The usual discussions regarding the stroke and distance penalty, the bunkering and the tree at The Wrecker were heard frequently during the tournament. However, there was one point on which everybody agreed, and that was that the course, especially the greens, was in better order than ever before at Easter. Further bunkering will hi; carried out iu the near future and the committee might consider lengthening the 34th hole, as the green is too big for a mashie-niblick pitch shot. The stroke and distance rule is severe, but it is difficult to legislate for such a course as Titirangi. The small pine tree at the 13th has been the cause of many arguments, but it is to Ihj hoped that it will be allowed to stand. Provided the tee-shot is placed in the correct position to the left of the fairway the tree is not on the line of the second shot to the green. In any ease, one natural feature is better than a number of artificial ones, and if the tree was removed extensive bunkering would be necessary. OLUB TOURNEYS VETERAN'S WIN Handicap tournaments were held at Maungakiekie, Remuera and Pupuke and all attracted good entries. In the qualifying rounds of the major event at One Tree Hill, the Easter Cup, the well-known cricketer H. G. Vivian easily led the largo field of 84 with the excellent net total of 140. In the first round he was beaten by In. J. Kidd, and eventually A. Woolley and S. Lamb reached the final, Woolley winning by 2 tind 1. A veteran in the golfing world, H. Randrup, was successful in the Easter Cup at Pupuke, when he defeated J. Drought at the 20th. The scoring was not good in a Stableford bogey at Remuera, D. Lawford winning after tieing with G.I. Duncan, J. Madden and W. S. Ralph.