WOMEN ON THE GOLF LINKS

Otago Witness, Issue 3801, 18 January 1927, Page 76

WOMEN ON THE GOLF LINKS

MATCH PLAY OR MEDAL PLAY! By Cecil Leitch (Lady Golf Champion 1926.) (Fob thb Witness.) XII. Match play is a more popular form oi golf than medal play, but it cannot be considered the best test of skill. Some players are spoken of as good “match players,” others are said to be good “medal players.” The former title may be a polite way of saying that the game, of those upon whom it is conferred, lacks the consistency which is necessary, when accompanied by a card and pencil; while the latter group may be given this title because they lack the fighting spirit which match play demands. Whe.ther this is true or not medal play must surely be the truest test of skill and temperament, lhe Open Championship is competed for under score conditions, and so is the American Open Championship. In the last six years, in these events, there has not been more than one stroke between the winner ' and the runner-up at the end of four- rounds, while on several occasions there was a tie.

. On adding up the scores of two players in a match it will often be found that the loser played fewer shots than the winner. It may be argued that the extra strokes were the results of risks which would not have taken in a medal round. But, even in a match, a player must use her judgment- before taking a risk, and must be prepared to face the consequences should the shot be a failure. It always seems hard that a player who has played sound golf at every hole should be defeated in a match play event by an opP°?!P. n t w^los e round was composed of some brilliant holes and some very bad ones. ■No one objects to a dashing player (i.e. h as the ability to recover from difficulties) progressing in a tournament, out, those of the “hit or miss” variety are favoured by match play conditions, and their mistakes are not sufficiently expensive. A player must not worry about her score when engaged in a match but she should introduce medal play tactics into match play. Particularly when opposed to a formidable player she should give each hole a par figure, end endeavour to hole out in that number or as near to it as possible. Many steady -prayers fail to do themselves justice when opposed to a player with a reputation because they expect faultless figures to be produced by the opponent, and imagine they must play above their usual form in srf??5 r f??. r ’ to kec P P ace with their more brilliant opponent. Were they to play fo- the figures they know to'be within their power, they would halve many holes, and be ready to seize wins when players with the reputation make a mistake. It is difificult-'to understand the nervousness of certain players as soon as they i° lJ a , card and P enci L Medal play should be less nerve racking than matchP* a -V. a B airls t a good opponent, for one has absolutely nothing to worry about except one s own ball. When taking a score a yard putt is a comparatively easy one to hole. But, in a big match, a putt of this distance seems twice its real length, especially when the opponent has holed out a long putt with the odd. Similarly with the shots up to the green, in a medal round, it does not matter to A if B has put a second shot stone dead at a long hole; she can go calmly on and play to get a bogey 5. If this were to happen m a match. B would would win this hole and probably another from a nervous opponent, for results of this kind are apt to nave a demoralising effect upon a certain type of player. Some years ago a proposal that medal play should be introduced into the conditions of play governing the Ladies’ Open Championship was strongly opposed. Ihat fact may. not be surprising in itself, but when it is added that the opposers included most of the low handicap players of . that time, it does give cause for surprise. The American Women’s Open Championship provides a test of medal and match play. - An 18 holes qualifying round decides the draw for the match play stages. This automatic draw places the qualifiers according to the score returned, that is, .when 32 qualify, the player who qualifies top is first in the draw, the second is last, the third is placed 16th, and the fourth is put into 17th place, and so on. Should the competitors play to form in both medal and match play stages, the four who qualified top must reach the semi-final, and the final will be fought out between those who returned the two best scores. THE BEST TEST.-

The time cannot be far distant when similar conditions will be adopted in England. If a championship is organised for the. purpose of finding who is the best player in the entry, then every competitor should be given an equal chance to prove her worth. At present the luck of the draw plays an all-too-important part in deciding the result. In one half a player may have a bye, a walk-over, and then meet, opponents of comparatively high handicap until she reaches the final. The other half may be bristling with good players, and she, who survives until the las* stage, may have had two more matches than her opponent—each, perhans,- a hard and gruelling one. It is difficult to understand why good players prefer this method of deciding a. championship, to one which would provide a better and fairer test. With the modern ball and the improved standard of play there, are many women who are capable of producing one brilliant round,

but their next round may not be so good. A more consistent player may fall a victim to one of these “flashes” in the first round of the championship, and is robbed of any further opportunity to show that the result was an accident. With the introduction of medal conditions, in one form or another, tragedies like this would bo avoided. A combination of medal and match play provides a perfect test of skill, nerve, and temperament. In a medal round a player is fully rewarded for any “birdies” or “eagles” she may obtain, but she has to carry the burden of bad figures until the end of the round or rounds. The test is one of consistency m play and temperament. During the match play stages errors may not be so costly, and the test becomes one of courage and sound judgment. (Concluded.)