GOLF

Southland Times, Issue 20207, 18 June 1927, Page 19 (Supplement)

GOLF

(By “Geek.”) FORTHCOMING EVENTS. June 20—French Ladies’ Open Championship, Le Touquet. July 11—British Open Championship, St. Andrews. August 22-27—U.S.A. Amateur Championship, Minnesota. August 23-27—Boys’ Amateur Championship, Bi.’-nton. September 2-10—New Zealand Championships, Hamilton. Bogey foursomes handicap at Otatara today. Queen's Park ladies play a match for the Scott Cup on Monday. It is hoped that all the Ayson Shield matches will be disposed of to-day. An eclectic match over 17 holes will be played by the Invercargill Ladies’ Club members on Thursday. Commencing to-day there will be a match at Otatara every Saturday until July 30, which day has been set aside for the first ; round of the club championship. The results of the first round matches of the Haggitt Memorial Competition are as follows: A. F. Grenfell beat F. 0. Mac Gibbon 2 up; W. Buchan beat R. H. J. Camm 2 up; H. Trevethick beat A. Wish 4 up and 2 to play; I. Carr beat R. Abercrombie 5 and 4; T. W. Vickery beat S. M. Macalister 1 up; P. C. Clulee beat G. Sadd 3 and 2; D. Palmer beat L. J. Grant by default. All the first-round matches must be played this week-end. not played will be struck out. L. J. B. Grant and W. Fordyce made no race of the four-ball bogey match played on the Park on Saturday. At Bonny Jean they were dormie 5 and continuing with steady golf ran out six up on the ‘•Colonel.'’ The rest of the field were a long way behind, several players considering they had done well if they finished all-square, considering the trickiness of the greens. A large number of players set out at Otatara on Thursday to contest the match for the Captain’s trophy. The scores were as follow: Mrs T. M. Macdonald .. .. 95—14—81 Miss L. Stout 104—22—82 Miss Oughton 106—21—85 Miss McQueen .. ~ .. .. 116—31—85 Miss Speirs 121—36—85 In finishing six up on the “Colonel” on Monday, Mrs Tait registered her third successive victory on the Park. Mrs Clow and Mrs Chartres tied for second place, while Miss M. Pilcher, three up was third. The trip to Dunedin last week-end proved very enjoyable to those who were fortunate enough to take part in it. The Invercargill party, eight in all, were out on the St. Clair course shortly after 10 o’clock on Saturday morning, and found a number of the St. Clair players ready to join them in a preliminary round. It was a beautiful day, and apart from the golf the views from different parts of the links were glorious. The long beach from St. Clair to Tomahawk has to be seen from a height to be appreciated. From another point the whole harbour was visible, from the wharves in the city to the islets at Port Chalmers, with the heads beyond. The sea was a vivid blue, but no bluer than the sky. The waters sparkled and flashed in the bright rays of the sun. The picture was one not readily to be forgotten, and even the most ardent golfer was tempted to pause now and again and let his eyes feast upon the beautiful work of nature spread out before him. However the object of the visit was not to admire scenery but to play golf. The links were in excellent order and the visitors found the holes full of interest, though both the distances and the pace of the sloping greens were baffling at first. The round in the morning was a useful preliminary to the match in the afternoon, but the Invercargill players could have done with a couple of days practice to familiarise them with the lay-out of the course and the difference between playing off stiffish clay and the light sandy soil of Otatara. As it was St. Clair carried too many guns, and of the eight matches St. Clair won six, lost one and halved one. Taking all the circumstances into consideration C. A. Masters and J. A. Mangan played well in the top matches, for both C. B. Wight (plus one) and W. Clayton (scr.) are difficult propositions at any time. To be only one down to Wight on his own course was a good performance on the part of Masters, while in the match between Ciayton and Mangan the margin w’as also narrow. G. L. Cuthbertson, who played for Invercargill by virtue of his standing as a country member, was also one down to Stevens, one of St. Clair’s most promising young players. R. J. Gilmour managed to halve his match with A. W. Alloo, thanks chiefly to the St. Clair player's kindness in putting three balls out of bounds one after the other from the sixteenth tee. J. E. Cuthill notched the only win for Invercargill and he got it on the last two holes. The juniors naturally found the problems of a strange course even more difficult than the seniors, and in addition E. M. Russell was pitted against an opponent selected to meet Eustace Russell, who, but for ill-health, would have made the trip. These are only explanations, however, for the St. Clair players won on their merits, and won very sportingly. The match was a pleasure to all w T ho took part in it, and it is hoped that it will be the first of many. A clue to the identity of the winner of the British amateur championship at Hoylake a few weeks ago is contained in the comments of “Golfing” on the English close championship played at Little Aston in April. The championship was won by T. P. Perkins (Castle Bromwich) who defeated J. B. Beddard (South Staffs) in the final. Commenting on the tournament the editor of “Golfing” says:—“Next to the two finalists the player who added most to his reputation was Dr. Tweddell, whom we used to hear of as a medical student at Aberdeen University and regarded as a Scottish player in virtue of those ‘educational and residential qualifications’ which the English Union introduced into thier comic opera

definition of nationality. In 1922 he won the Peterhead Tournament and was runnerup at Cruden Bay, and he was in the last sixteen of the Amateur Championship at St. Andrew’s in 1924. Now he is a doctor at Stourbridge, and has become a very formidable player indeed. He played some of the best golf of the whole meeting—in the fifth round, for instance, when I watched him polish off Mr S. C. Craven, he reached the turn in 3 under 4’s. But he was not quite the same man when he was hard pressed by Mr Beddard in the following round. He began to take more pains with his shots and in consequence did not play them so well, and he was finally eliminated by Mr Beddard holing a long putt all across the home green.” This is no doubt the Tweddell who won the amateur championship, and obviously he commands a particularly strong game. The English close championship was a pipeopener for him and he went on from Little Aston to do even greater things at Hoylake. It was Tweddell who put out Len Nettlefold, the young jmateur champion of Australia, in the round before the semi-finals. Nettlefold, by the way, was the first left hander since 1912 to reach the last eight in the British amateur championship. In the practice match at Rose Bay (Sydney), in which the visiting New Zealandera were opposed by professionals, Dr. Ross struck a warm opponent in W. Corry, who was three under fours at the tenth hole and kept the pace going till the thirteenth, where he won 6 up and 5. The veteran professional, D. G. Soutar, who must now be round about 60 years of age, was also in good form and defeated A. D. S. Duncan 5 and 4. The St. Clair Club overwhelmed the visiting Invercargill team with hospitality last week-end. The visitors were invested with the freedom of the Club House, and were not even allowed to pay for their meals. So strongly did they appreciate the kindness shown to them that they decided to purchase a trophy for competition among members of the St. Clair Club. At the gathering in the Club House after play Mr A. E. Smith threw out the suggestion that annual home and home matches might be played between St. Clair and Invercargill for a suitable trophy. Mr Cuthbertson at once chipped in that Oamaru would like to

be in it, and Mr Drake, on behalf of St. Clair Club, said he felt sure the idea would appeal to his fellow members. The proposal was informally discussed afterwards, and it was left to Mr Smith to follow up his suggestion with some definite scheme for consideration by the three clubs concerned. Annual competitions on the lines roughly sketched would certainly give a stimulus to the game. Foursomes at Otatara to-day. This form of match is not played as often as it should be in New Zealand. The foursome is a far keener test of golf than the four-ball. Neither player is able to let up for a single instant throughout the round, and each has to do his best for his partner’s sake as well as his own. The foursome calls out the best qualities as well as the best golf in the players, and foursomes as well as singles are played for such trophies as the Walker Cup (contested by Britain and America) and the Kirk-W T indeyer Cup, while there are foursomes championships in Australia. Foursomes play deserves every encouragement, and it is a matter for congratulation that the conditions of the Cuthbertson Memorial Cup will ensure at least one foursomes competition at Otatara every j year, while this year Mr E. Russell has ' ensured another by donating prizes for the ] winners. i The members of the New Zealand team j deserve the heartiest congratulations on gaining the victory in the first contest for ; the Kirk-Windeyer Cup. They won both ' the foursomes and two of the singles, thus winning four matches to two. The star item was A. D. 8. Duncan’s win over Ivo Whitton, open champion of Australia. Whitton is generally conceded the position of ; the best amateur in Australia. He is still I in his prime, and is a powerful, resolute player, equally proficient in all departments of the game. A list of his championships would fill a column. He has been three times open champion of Australia and twice amateur champion. How often he has won the amateur championship of Victoria this writer does not pretend to know, but he has certainly won it many times and he has

something like a mortgage on the Club championship of the Royal Melbourne Club. Had he been twenty years younger, Duncan would have met Whitton on something like • equal terms, but in the match at Sydney ! the odds were heavily in favour of the younger man. Yet Duncan won. The victory proved what a great golfer the New Zealand champion is. Notwithstanding his age his command of the strokes stands to him, and he can still hold his own in the best company. Duncan’s brilliant win gave the New Zealanders three matches — two foursomes and one single—but three singles still had to come in. In the first of these Alex. Russell (Whitton's brilliant clubmate and open champion in 1924) beat Horton. Russell was at his best, or very near it, and, good as Horton is, he is not good enough for Russell when the latter is near top form. Then came Headlam and Ross, with the Otago champion fighting for dear life. The twentieth hole was reached before the New Zealander was beaten. It was now three matches to two in New Zealand’s favour and everything depended on the last match. In this Leo Quinn got home against Schlapp and the Cup was ours. In none of the singles was there a difference of more than one hole, and as the Victorian team had earned the right to meet New Zealand only by eliminating Queensland and New South Wales the matches showed that our best amateurs are about on a par with those of Australia. The Australians will come to New Zealand for the Cup next year, and the matches will be worth going a long way to see. Congratulations to the Gore Club on their success in lifting the Laing Shield from the wall of the Otatara Club House and carrying it back with them to Gore. The trophy is nearly twenty years’ old now, but the win on Wednesday was the first the Gore Club has had and the victory was therefore overdo?. There is a fine spirit of enthusiasm in the Gore Club at the present time. Their team were keen to win the Shield, and, having won it, the Gore Club will do their utmost to defend it against all-comers. And their team will not be easy to beat on their own course. It is not a long course, nor is it a difficult course, but the holes are tricky and the player who knows them well and is accustomed to playing them has a distinct advantage over an opponent to whom they are strange. The genial president of the Gore Club, Mr R. Fisher, was delighted with his team’s success, and in accepting the trophy from the president of the Invercargill Club, showed a true sporting spirit. The Shield was won by the Invercargill Club at Wyndham in September, 1925, since when it has graced the | walls of the dining-room at Otatara. It was successfully defended throughout last season and against Riverton this season, but it was time that it “moved on” to fulfil the purpose which its donor, Mr. J. M. Laing, had in presenting it. Winton had lodged a challenge for the Shield with the Invercargill Club before the match with Gore was played. The challenge will be handed on, and the Winton Club has the first right to a contest with the new holders. No doubt the other country clubs will challenge this season. Balclutha should reenter the arena, while the appearance of Roxburgh as an aspirant may be expected. Gore is a handy centre, and the change of climate for the Shield may result in the i infusion of new life and vigour into the j contests for the trophy. I SPALDING’S KRO-FLITE is a new-idea golf ball, the most durable in the world. I Outlasts four others of any make. Superlative for distance and control. Almost in- ' destructible. In fact, “It lasts till it’s lost.” At 3/3 is thus the cheapest as well as the best ball you can buy. Guaranteed against cutting in fair play.