GOLF NOTES.

Southland Times, Issue 16786, 15 July 1911, Page 3

GOLF NOTES.

(By “Cleek.”)

The 72-put up by Butters last Saturday will probably stand for all time a record for the present course. Butters himself may better it —though that is Improbable—but it is not likely that any other player will even nearly approach it. Pity is that the score was not made In competition so that it could rank as an official record. However, there is no doubt as to the genuineness of the card, and the performance has satisfied local golfers at any rate that when Butters goes to the New Zealand championships, as, I understand, he will do, he will be a competitor to be reckoned with. I am told that he looks forward with keen relish to a meeting with Clements, and if that meeting should come about, Butters will take with him into it the very good wishes of Southland golfers. The match for the A Grade for Wednesday next is a stroke foursome handicap. Members will require to notify the secretary who their partners are and their opponents will be decided by drawing as usual. Talking of the New Zealand championships, it is a great pity that Duncan and Wood are to be absentees. Prom the rest of New Zealand amateurs these two stand out very prominently, and a struggle between them this year has been eagerly looked forward to. Duncan has over and over again proved himself to be one of the finest golfers the dominion has ever produced—the finest some say. For years he has had more or less victories, so that his possession of the amateur championship lias come to be taken almost as a matter of course. But in B. B. Wood a new star has arisen—a star of more than ordinary brilliancy—and there are those who hold, that B. B. Wood will one day become Wood the Invincible, or something of that sort. Anyway he is a very fine golfer, and, as has been said, it is a cause of much regret that he and Duncan are not to enter this year’s lists. Congratulations to Webb on his Saturday win with 84 net, a score which was marred by a temporary falling away at the start of the second half. Congratulations also to Alsop for being runnerup with 86 —an achievement for which, in the absence of a card to say so, he was not given credit in Monday’s issue. Winners in the Saturday medal up to date are: Barclay in May, A. Hall in June, and Webb in July. In the Wednesday medal the winners are Stewart in May,. W. Smith in June, and Sale in July, In the B Grade medal the winners are; Mackintosh in May, Hamann in June, W. Thomson in July. A golfing census shows thpt in Great Britain and Ireland there are now over 1700 clubs, with an aggregate membership of over 425,000 regular players. These figures take no account of ladies’ golf, and the number of lady players may be safely put down at not less than 90,000. The following cable anent the British championship (fuller than that which came to the New Zealand Press) appeared in certain Australian papers under date London, May 29: —“Play for the open championship of the world was concluded at Sandwich yesterday. The event resulted in an exciting finish, only three strokes separating the first six players. For first place there was a tie between Harry Vardon, of the South Herts Golf Club, Totterldge, and Arnaud Massey, of the Soclete de Golf de Paris, La Boulie, with scores of 303 for the four rounds: and third place was also tied for by the amateur champion, H. H. Hilton, of the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, and Alexander Herd, the Huddersfield professional, James Braid (Walton Heath), last year’s open champion, and Edward Ray (Santon), tied for fourth place with 305.' M. Scott gained 40th place with a score of 320.”

Only three previous ties in the open championship have been recorded. In 1883 "SVillie Fernie tied with Bob Ferguson before winning; in 1889 Pillie Park with Andrew Kircalkey, both events taking place at Musselburgh; and again at Muirfleld in 1896 H. Vardon won after a tie with J. H. Taylor, and thus robbed Taylor of a third victory in succession. Vardon, who won the play-off, has a record which Is unique for brilliance. From 1596 to 1903 he was nearly invincible, his record in open championships reading:—lß96, 189S, 1899, and 1903; winner; 1900, 1901, and 1902, run-ner-up. From 1903 to 1910 he was chosen in the English international team. Vardon, after 1903, fell into illhealth. and for a long time could not do himself justice at all, but in the last twelve months has been gradually coming back to his old form, when seldom a week passed without his adding some new record to his list. The only difference between Vardon of to-day and eight- years ago is that he has never quite recovered his genius for holing out from all distances. To his other qualifications Vardon can add the winning of ten prizes as a sprinter; and, curiously enough. Sandwich is his favourite course for golf. Vardon finished 16th in last year’s event. He is 41 years of age. Arnaud Massey, who was runner-up in the championship and who subsequently turned the tables on the English professionals when they went to France, is 42 years of age, and in 1906 he jumped into prominence by winning the French open championship against leading English professionals. Next year he again won the French event, and, in addition, carried off the open championship of the world at Hoylake, and was generally successful in his exhibition matches for the year. Since then Massey had maintained his place in the first rank of the world’s golfers. Last year he finished 23rd in the open championship. H. H. Hilton, like Vardon, had a spell of lean years, and now at 42 years of age has again come to life. He won the amateur championship at Prestwick, at the end of last month, for the third time, and is the only amateur who has won the open event more than once, the only other amateur who has won an open championship, being John Ball, junr., in 1800. Hilton was successful at Muirfleld in 1892, with a score of 312; and again at Hoylake in 1907, with a score of 314. His performance this year of 304, or four 76’s, in such an improved class of golf is perhaps the best in his career. Alexander Herd won the open championship at Hoylake in 1902, and was second In 1895, and has played for Scotland in the international matches since 1903. Herd is 43 years of age, and has been in the first-class of British golf for many years. James Braid, whose open championship winning record Vardon has just equalled, won last year for the fifth time. He is 41 years of age. and has better allround performances to his credit than any living player. Edward Ray, who is 33, and, like Vardon, a native of Jersey, has won many competitions, and has represented England in the international matches slncq 1903. Ho tied for eighth place in the open championship at Mulrfield in 1906, and tied for fifth place with Braid at Hoylake in the same event in 1907. Ray is regarded as one of the most brilliant exponents of the younger school of professional golfers. Golfers have been speculating as to the actual conditions of the event, So numerous has the entry become that last year it was decided to divide the competitors into two halves; one-half of each division to play 18 holes on the Tuesday of championship week, and the same on the Wednesday; the half that play in the morning of Tuesday to play in the afternoon of Wednesday, and the half that play in the afternoon of Tuesday to play in the forenoon of Wednesday. Thus in the first two days each com-

petitor plays one round each day. Then the first 60 players on those two rounds (which count for the championship), including tees, play another 36 holes on the Thursday, the aggregate best of the four rounds being the winner. By this means tlie duration of the event is reduced to three days’ play, instead of the four required when the first two days were given to qualifying rounds, which did not count for the championship proper. Although M. Scott, the amateur champion of Australia, obtained only 40th jdace, it will probably be found that few of the amateurs beat him. In last year’s event J. Ball was the best amateur, and finished nineteenth, with a score of 314, when the winning aggregate was 299; and fortieth place was gained by a score of 321. On this occasion Scott was fortieth with 320, as against a winning aggregate of 303.