MASTERLY GOLF

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26939, 26 November 1948, Page 6

MASTERLY GOLF

Professional Final At Balmacewen

MURRAY’S THREE TITLES

A. J. Murray, of the Tit'irangi Club, is the 1948 professional golf champion. Yesterday at Balmacewen he beat A. J. Shaw, the Miramar professional and veteran of many national championships, 1 up on the thirty ; sixth green. Murray has thus completed a treble at the tournament—he has won the Open title, the Professional'Foursomes and now the Professional Singles. : In 1935 Murray accomplished the same feat to make his name in New Zealand golf. Shaw, who won three titles in 1931 and 1934, played superlative golf over the first 18 holes yesterday morning to be 4 up, but in the afternoon he fell into error around the greens.

Quarter-finals in the Amateur Championship were played yesterday, and the semi-finals will be decided over

Championship was that between B. Bamfield and last year’s champion, B. M. Silk. Silk was never ahead of Bamfield until the eighteenth, where the young New Plymouth player made the fatal mistake of failing to be up with, his second. Both men came home in 35, Silk having three 3’s in a row at the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth. Silk, a seasoned campaigner, had one of his hardest matches against the comparatively inexperienced Bamfield.

36 holes to-day between B. M. Silk (Wangamii), the present champion, and R. H. Glading (Titirangi) in one match, and W. G. Horne, of Wellington (winner in 1946) and A. Gibbs (Otago) in the other. In the matches yester-

1 day Gibbs came with a great run m | the second half to beat D. L. Woon ■ (Waitikiri), a member of the New Zealand team which visited Australia, ! who has shown rather disappointing • form in the tournament. Silk was fully extended by B. Bamfield, the young New Plymouth player. , With fine conditions and the prospect of some outstanding golf, crowds swarmed over the course yesterday in quest of instruction or entertainment. In the afternoon it was estimated that ’ the galleries numbered almost as many ' as last Saturday, when about 1000 people ‘ watched the final rounds of the Open Championship. A boisterous wind from the north-east put the competitors on their mettle, while the greens were taking plenty of “bite” after overnight rain.

Bamfield took the" first, where Silk three-putted, but the game was squared when Bamfield missed with a bold putt at the third. Bamfield took the fifth and sixth, where Silk’s putter again let him down, but Silk took the eighth and ninth, Bamfield being deep in trouble at the Glen. His drive was short and his second went in the rough, while Silk made no mistakes. The next two .holes were halved, as was the twelfth, both players recorded birdies after excellent irons to the green and good putts. Silk’s Victory Bamfield won the next after Silk had been in trouble with his drive and second and halved Roy’s in spectacular fashion when he recovered from a bunker to equal Silk’s birdie 3. At the fifteenth, Silk hit an almost perfect second which struck the pin and stopped a few inches away. Bamfield putted boldly, but it was Silk s hole with yet another birdie. Silk; was in the bunker at the short sixteenth but holed a 15-footer to keep level with Bamfield. Both drives were well out in the rough at the seventeenth, and the hole was halved m ss. A weak approach by Bamfield at the eighteenth spelt disaster, Silk making no mistake and taking the hold ana the match. A brilliant finishing burst by A. Gibbs carried him to a clear-cut victory over the New Zealand representative, D. L. Woon, by 3 and 2. Gibbs came home in 33, four strokes under bogey. His card for the inward tiinc read: 3 (3), 4 (5), 4 (4), 4 (5), 3 J[4), 5 (4), 2 (3). 4.(4), 4 (5), 33 (37).

Shaw in Form . Some of the most exciting golf' of the tournament was provided by Shaw in his morning game against Murray. After three holes had been played he was 3 up on the Open champion and two strokes under par. A putt of 30 inches on the fourth green robbed Shaw of a birdie 2, but he was applauded by the ' large gallery for a birdie 4at the next hole. Shaw completed the first nine in 34—two under p ar —to be 4 up on Murray. Twice in the second half he was 5 up, but three putts on the last green left him with an advantage of 4 holes after the morning round. ,•• At the sixth Murray checked Shaw with a birdie 3, and the next was halved in s’s. Shaw was partially stymied at the eighth, but he won the hole in a bogey 4. A feature of the ninth (which was halved in 4’s) Was Murray’s recovery shot from the thick rough, the ball landing safely on the green. Murray tossed his club away fn disgust after playing a short chip at the tenth. The next three holes were halved in bogey figures.

Throughout the match Gibbs was the more accurate of the two, Woon occasionally gaining greater length off the tee, but being more prone; to be off the line than the . Otago player. The fact that Woon could not improve on par figures at any hole, while Gibbs did so at five out of the 18. was the measure of Gibbs's superiority. . Glading Wms

The gallery of about 200 buzzed ! with interest at Roy’s (the fourteenth) when Shaw was awarded the hole after an incident in the hazard in the manuka trees flanking the green. Shaw was lying on the edge of a bunker near the green, Murray having misdirected his tee shot into the trees. The referee, Mr J. F. Byers, noticed that Murray’s caddie had grounded a ;lub while indicating to Murray where the ball was lying, and Mr Byers had no hesitation awarding the hole to Shaw. This made him 5 up. In the same hazard on Wednesday N. H. North had to, concede the hole to A. Gibbs after he had grounded his

Although he was never in a position to relax and feel at ease about the position R. H. Glading always appeared to have the edge on A. R* Kitto, eventually winning 2 and 1. Glading was the more accurate of the two, in spite of some startling recovery shots by Kitto which temporarily relieved his supporters of anxiety. His score of 35 ‘on the way

s> Nfclub during a practice swing. » X Murray whittled down Shaw s lead "at the short sixteenth, when he holed a tricky downhill putt, but Shaw was again 5 up after the seventeenth,_ where Murray was in the bunker with his second. He exploded to within three feet of the pin, but the putt rolled round the edge of the hole By notching a birdie 4 at the last hole, Murray ended the morning round 4 down. ' Intense Interest After such exhilarating golf in the morning, Shaw was given rapt attention as he drove off from the. first tee in the afternoon. The gallery was soon to see an anti-climax to such great play by the veteran, Tor he lost four holes to be all square .with •Murray as they went on' to the twentythird tee. Shaw was short with his 4'chips on both the nineteenth ana \ twentieth holes, and played a bad pitch shot at the twenty-first. Murray won Wilson’s with an excellent birdie 2. Shaw again took the lead at the long twentv-third after Murray had lost his ball in the trees to the left of the fairway, but Murray squared the match at the twenty-fifth after Shaw had misfeed a putt of about 18 inches. Both players were all square at the Glen. Murray won the twenty-eighth with a bogey 3 and increased his lead to ■ 2 up at McGlashan’s with a well- ; ' played birdie 3. The hole is 345 yards :f n length, and Murray finished 15 ''yards from the edge of the green with Nhis drive. There was a strong blowing at the time. At • Manuka (434 yards), Shaw played two h fine shots, chipped to within six 'inches, ana won a hole. Murray remained 1 up until the last hole and . this lead was sufficient ’to give him V the title. Shaw’s figures over the last • six holes were:—4 (5), 3 (4), 4 (4), 3 (3), 4 (4), 4 ,(5). A critical stage of the match came at the seventeenth, where Shaw was dormie 1. Both players had found the sloping green with fine iron shots. Shaw was short with a 14-foot putt and Murray excited the gallery with a great attempt at holing a 13-foot putt. In his final with the doughtv Shaw, Murray showed his quali- "■ ties,as a golfer of the finest class. ‘s Easily the most exciting match in the quarter-finals of the Amateur

out against Kitto’s 37 represented Glading’s lead of two holes at the turn. W. G. Horne carried too many guns for T. C. Tyrrell, winning 4 and 3, but the . Otago player fought back in gallant fashion, and did not concede defeat until Horne had sunk his last putt. A disastrous start, in which the ditch along the first fairway and one or two bunkers played a prominent part, saw Tyrrell 4 down at the fifth. Horne was playing steady, although not spectacular, golf, and profiting from Tyrrell’s mistakes. Tyrrell got one back at the sixth, but the margin again widened when Horne sank a good putt at the eighth. Tyrrell won the ninth, and they turned for home with Horne leading, 3 up. The remaining holes were halved with the exception of the thirteenth, where Horne played two solid woods and chipped up close for a birdie 4. The match ended on the fifteenth green, where the hole was halved in 4’s. THE SCORES 1 Professional Final A. "J. Murray' (Titirangi) beat A. J. Shaw (Miramar) 1 up at the thirtysixth. Amateur Quarter-finals B. M. Silk (Wanganui) beat B Bamfield (New Plymouth) 1 up at the eightenth. 1 R. H. Glading (Titirangi) beat A. R, Kitto (Castlecliff) 2 and l. J W. G. Horne (Wellington) beat T. C. Tyrrell (Otago) 4 and 3. A. Gibbs (Otago) beat D. L. Woon (Waitikiri) 3 and 2. New Zealand Plate First Round. —C. J. Ward beat C. W. Caldwell 6 and 4, T. P. Jones beat W. E. Jones 1 up, F. W. Dixon beat W. C. Crisp by default, C. W. Romeril beat J. A. Scouler 1 up, T. B. Ferguson beat I. McLennan 6 and 4, J. L. R. Mackay beat A. P. W. Church 4 and 3, E. G. Kerr beat J. L. Black 1 up, J. N. Lemon beat N. H, North 4 and 3. Second Round—C. J. Ward beat T P. Jones 1 up, F. W. Dixon beat C. Romeril 6 and 5, T B. Ferguson beat J. L. R. Mackay 4 and 3, J. N. Lemon beat E. G. Kerr 2 up. „ The semi-finals will be played this morning between Ward and Dixon and Ferguson and Lemon.