GOLF

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23082, 7 January 1937, Page 5

GOLF

By Divot

The main subject of interest to Dunedin goiters during the past week wag the jjunedin Open Amateur Championship tournament held by' the. St. Clair Ciub. The entry, which included golfers from some 'l7 clubs from all over New Zealand, was not so large as could have been expected. An important factor to account tor this is the outbreak of infantile paralysis in Dunedin, which prevented many people from travelling. Tne weather, too, was not helpful, but in spite of this the tournament proceeded according to schedule, and reached finality on the appointed day, although the matter of qualifying had to be limited to one round. The course was in excellent condition, and visitors were unanimous in their praise concerning the state of the fairways and the greens. Since the previous tournament the course had been considerably lengthened, and the hples improved by the addition of several sand bunkers.

J. A. Scouler is to be congratulated upon his meritorious performance in winning the Dunedin title' for the second time. Right throughout' the tournament Scouler played consistent golf. He qualified as leader by. a margin of three strokes, and although he had close calls in at least three of his games in the match play stages, his success was well deserved.' "■

In his first round match M’Beath, of the Timaru Club, gave him a great fight for it, and Scouler had to struggle in the second half to maintain the lead which he had laboriously built: up in the first nine holes. M'Beath, is a long driver, and the rest of his game is based pn sound principles.-V? ‘He gives the impression that., it wilt not be long before his golf wi}l reacli\the same high standard of- excellence as has his cricket., In his second round Scouler had his closest call. His opponent on this-oc-casion was D. S. M‘Lean, who thoroughly deserves his reputation of beiqg one of the dourest match players in Dunedin. Last year he was a finalist in this event against A. G. Sime, and on that occasion he lowered his colours only at the twentieth hole. During the year he suffered defeat at the hands of J. E. Matheson at the nineteenth in the St. Clair Club Championship, an occasion when he was really unlucky not to have won at the eighteenth. Against Scouler, M‘Lean put up another grand performance, and acknowledged defeat to a perfectlyplayed 2 at the twentieth. This match provided the most thrilling finish during the tournament. A steady 4 at the eighteenth gave 'M'Lean the win when Scouler missed a comparatively easy putt. At the nineteenth both hit perfect drives, but M'Lean had the better second, being nicely on the green, while Scouler was through and faced with a difficult approach up the bank. Scouler elected to run up his approach, and he played a good one which finished about eight feet past the hole. M‘Lean’» 20-footer was well and truly struck, and it hit the back of the hole, but, just failing to drop, stood on the lip of the cup and laid Scouler a quarter “ stymie.” As a test of nerve, Scouler’s next shot could scarcely be surpassed, and it is a tribute to his courage that his putt, for boldness of execution and successful result, could not’ have been bettered. With only enough room for his ball to find thehole, Scouler’s> firmly-hit putt shaved past to hit the back of the hole and drop.

The twentieth was played in a fog, which made it impossible to see the flag from the tee. Both played perfect irons, and when the green was reached it was found that Scopler was two feet from the pin, while M'Lean was 20 feet from the flag. M’Lean’a putt again hit the hole, but did not stay there. Once again Scouler made no mistake with his putt to win a memorable match.

Against Matheson, Scouler had tha upper hand most of the way. Matheson was obviously struggling to make up leeway, and, ‘although he missed several opportunities, the same could be said of Scouler’s chances of improving his lead. At Stocks,' Matheson squared the game, but a nushed-out drive suffered the appropriate penalty, and, the last two holes being halved, the match finished at the eighteenth in Soculer’s favour. . The other semi-final between Sime and Clayton was one in which a high standard of golf was played, and Sime could have no regrets at accepting defeat from Clayton’s perfectly-played round. As Sime played golf which would-have beaten most men, the fact that he was beaten indicates how high the standard was in this game. Clayton. after his victory of 2 and 1, required a 4 at the last hole for a 71. P. Glasson, of the Otago Club, thoroughly deserved his victory in defeating K. Skinner in (the final of the Otago Junior Amateur Championship. Glasson had the advantage of experience against Skinner, but he had to play up to his best to defeat his brilliant young opponent. K. Skinner and N. Skinner, sons of H. E, Skinner, a well-known member of St. Clair Club, show every promise of becoming sound golfers—a circumstance which has occasioned surprise to those members who are best able to adjudicate upon the abilit of their father—have been responsible for good performances during the tournament, and each has earned a substantial reduction of handicap.

K. Skinner, with a score of 7 up, created something in the nature of a record, as his medal score showed a net 59.