GOLF

Southland Times, Issue 21773, 30 July 1932, Page 14

GOLF

(By “Cleek.”) Fixtures. AT OTATARA. July 30.—Canadian Foursomes Bogey Handicap. August 6.—Medal Handicap. AT QUEEN’S PARK. July 30.—2nd Qualifying Round Club Championships. Queen’s Park players will be all out in the second qualifying rounds for the club championships to-day. When Gene Sarazen had holed ms last putt in the British open championship at Prince’s, Sandwich, he flopped into a chair. “Give me a drink, he said; “a strong drink.” Tom Lawton, the Rugby football genius whose leadership has meant much to Australia but whose football days appear to be nearly over, is in the championship class at golf. A Canadian foursomes bogey handicap will be played at Otatara this afternoon. In the Canadian foursome each member of the side has a drive from the tee, but one of the balls must then be selected and the hole must be finished out with it, the partners playing alternate strokes. If A’s drive is selected B plays the second stroke and vice versa. In the foursome proper, or the Scotch foursome as the Americans call it, only one drive is allowed the partners taking them at alternate holes. The Canadian foursome gives the side two drives to choose from, and, assuming both to be equally good, affords scope for tactics as regards the second shot. The Canadian foursome is popular, and the Invercargill Club has another on its programme for September 3rd. „ J C. Prain and E. R. Curtis, having regained the Cock o’ the Walk badges from A. G. Seddon and T. H. Mills, had to take up the gage of battle thrown down by C. A. Masters and 1. W. B. Stoddart. Masters found the strokes he had to concede too heavy a burden but Stoddart fought like a tiger. However the holders won 2 and 1 and “lived to fight another day. Local golfers heard with regret during the week of the death of J. L. Wight, one of the golfing family which includes C. B. Wight of St. Clair and W. G. Wight of Balmacewan. J. J/, frequently played at Otatara on his visits to Invercargill, particularly. in the summer months, when he got in a round after business hours. He was gassed in the war and never completely recovered. Sincere sympathy will be extended to the widow, who has been left with a young child. Ivo Whitton, open champion of Australia, and Harry Williams, amateur champion of Australia, both play their golf on Melbourne courses, but there had been no “clash” between them until they met recently in the pennant match, Royal Melbourne v. Victoria. After a ding-dong fight Whitton won one up. Williams had his 17th birthday in the week in which the match was played. Before he left England after winning the open championship Gene Sarazen gave his driver to his friend the Hon. Michael Scott, once a prominent figure in Australian golf, and a special niblick for work in sand to another friend in T. A. Torrance, who will captain this year’s British team m the Walker Cup match against U.S.A. Although A. Thom is expected to compete in the second' qualifying round at the Queen’s Park this afternoon, it is understood that that is as far as he intends going in the championship. Thom is at present reported to be under transfer to Clinton, where he may be stationed for several months. 'The following Queen’s Park players gained reductions in handicaps as a result of their scores last Saturday: J. Nicholson, 8 to 6; E. Halder, 13 to 12' F. J. Perham, 13 to 11; J. W. Colquhoun, 17 to 16; A. W. Wilson, 18 to 16.

The weather was fine but cold on Wednesday when the Queen’s Park Ladies Club held a flag match. The senior division was won by Mrs Stalker, who carried the flag to the eighteenth green, and the junior by Miss Guest, who planted it in the eighteenth fairway. The club championships are approaching the final stages, a semi-final having been played in each grade. In the A section Mrs McCreary beat Mrs Georgeson, 5 and 4, and in the B Miss Gilkison beat Miss Guest, 3 and 1. In the finals Mrs McCreary meets the winner of the match between Mrs Wilson and Mrs Scott, and Miss Gilkison plays the winner of the Miss Ireland—Mrs Speirs game. Members of the Invercargill Ladies’ Golf Club played a sealed hole bogey match at Otatara on Thursday. The course was in good order, but a cold easterly wind detracted to a considerable extent from the enjoyment of the afternoon’s golf. The winner was Mrs Blaxall, who finished two up, the runner-up being Mrs Israel, allsquare.

The British Parliament recently passed an Act to empower the City Council of St. Andrews to authorise a charge for admission to the championships played on the famous old course. Curiously enough the most famous golf club in the world, the Royal and Ancient, does not possess a golf course of its own. All four courses at St Andrews are on a common, the property of the people of St Andrews, which is open to the public at any time. The Royal and Ancient Club recently notified the City authorities, however, that no more championships would be held at St. Andrews unless a charge could be made for admission—hence the legislation. As the course from the famous 17th green, the Road hole, to the 18th fronts on a public street, lined on the other side with houses, hotels and shops, and unprotected by a fence of any kind, and as the course is open to easy access from other points, it will not be easy to enforce the charge. However, St. Andrews practically lives by golf, the whole population plays golf and the old course is the most famous championship venue in the world, and it is unlikely that many will attempt to evade the charge.

There is a moral in the following story for players who are inclined to dawdle, and there are some of them on local courses. Golfers all round the course were being held up as usual, hole after hole, by one player (with a non-observant partner), whom nothing but a Mills bomb would have induced to move more quickly. At last the patience of a follower was exhausted. Going forward and addressing the leisurely player, he said, “I’ll give you £5 if you will resign your membership of this club.” Later in the afternoon Mr Slowman sought the secretary and complained that he had been insulted by a member, and related the circumstances.

“You didn’t accept the offer,” did you?” asked the secretary. “Certainly not,” was the indignant reply.

“You did quite right to hold out,” said the secretary. “I know several members who will give you much more than that.”

OTATARA CHAMPIONSHIPS. The results in the first round of matches in the club championships at Otatara were, in the main, very much in accordance with expectations. R. A. Wilson had command of the match against C. J. Davies all the way, but he should not have won 5 up and 3 to go. Davies was feeble on the putting green. It is on the putting greens, however, that matches are won and lost M. O’Dowda held A. Thom for eight holes, at which stage the match was square. A well-played 4 at the ninth gave Thom the lead, and when he also won the tenth the tide definitely set in his favour and he won 4 an d 3. J. E. Cuthill and N. G. Pigou had the best possible kind of match—a level go, good golf on each side, and the decision resting on a' putt on the last green. Cuthill went to the seven—teenth tee one up, but Pigou made no mistake there and with a 4 squared the match. At the 18th it was Pigou who holed his putt for another 4 and the match one up, Cuthili s ball, running true, being held up by a wet patch. J. A. Mangan did as well as he could reasonably expect to do against C. A. Masters. He was one up at the 4th, but Masters squared at the sth and went on to win 4 and 3. Of the four matches in the intermediate grade one went to the sixteenth and the other three to the seventeenth green, good enough evidence that the combatants were pretty well matched. J. C. Prain and J. P. Butler played shot for shot till near the end of the first half and did the holes in sound bogey figures. Then Prain got his nose in front and kept it there to win 3 and 2. J. H. Thomas had the better of the argument with G. B. Meredith for quite a while, but Meredith can play solid golf and produced some fine shots to clear off a deficit and stand 2 up at the sixteenth. A well-played 4 at the 17th clinched it and he won 3 and 1. A. G. Seddon and W. Buchan disputed every yard of the course right to the 15th hole, at which point there was nothing between them. No one would have been surprised had the match gone beyond the 18th, but Seddon got openings at the 16th and 17th and seized them to win both holes and the match 2 and 1. G. J. McHarg and G. G. Tangney had a stem fight with fluctuating fortunes, but McHarg asserted himself on the greens, holing some vital putts, including what looked like a stymie on the 15th. This tipped the scales in his favour and he won a good match 2 and 1. In the junior grade three of the matches were also close, two finishing at the 17th and the third at the 19th. A. H. Oughton, who came in as eighth man when /. Dickens withdrew, made L. Alsweiler go for it all the way. Oughton was 4 down at one stage, but then began to get the holes back until with the 16th played, he was only one down. Many a match has been won from that position, but Alsweiler got his chance at the 17th, jumped at it and won 2 and 1. C. C. Anderson and L. R. Bentley were practically on even terms for the greater part of their match, with Anderson always a shade in front. One up and 3 to go, Anderson made no error at the 17th and won a good contest 2 and 1. The match of the day was undoubtedly that between A. E. Smith and W. A. Service. The President was driving like a lesser Sarazen and never looked like, making a mistake on the tee. Service, on the other hand, was at times at fault in his long game, but whenever he dropped a stroke up to the green he recovered by getting down in one putt. When he holed out from about four yards at the second he found a touch on the greens that never deserted him. It went on all the way to the 18th. There, with the match all square, Smith laid his approach putt stone dead for the like and Service lay twelve feet or more away. It looked as if the match was over, but down went Service’s long putt for the half and on they went to the 19th. Here the President failed with his second and third and was still short of the green with his fourth, but ran up nicely to within ’uee feet.. Service, on in three, was too strong with his approach putt and missed coming back, so that Smith had his putt for a half. He missed it and a hard-fought match went to Service. J. Strettell was in good form in his match with T. W. B. Stoddart and on the day carried too many guns, winning 5 and 4. The Semi-Finals. All the semi-finals should be interesting. The outstanding match is, of course, that between R. A. Wilson and A. Thom, and it is to be hoped that both are right on top of their game. In the lower half of the draw C. A. Masters and N. G. Pigou have played their match, Masters winning 3 and 2. Masters will therefore meet the winner of the Wilson-Thom match in the final. . _ In the intermediate section J. Prain and G. B. Meredith should go neck and neck to the last green. It will be a pity if either should fail to do himself justice. A. G. Seddon and G. J. McHarg are the other contestants. For the Junior title L. S. Alsweiler plays C. C. Anderson in one match and W. A. Service plays J. Strettell in the other. QUEEN’S PARK DOINGS. With the first qualifying round of the Queen’s Park Club’s championships disposed of, a better indication of those likely to be engaged in match play is available. The weather last Saturday was not by any means favourable, but it was no worse that what has been experienced for most of the season, so that the players can hardly be said to have been at a disadvantage. A field of 23 took out cards in the club championship, including A. Thom, who was held the title on several previous occasions, but did not defend it last year. Thom had a good round of 78 and at present leads his nearest rival by only one stroke. While this, round represented sound golf, Thom is capable of better at the Park, but still under the prevailing conditions it was a pretty good effort. J. Nicholson signalized his entry into his first championship with an excellent 79, probably the best he has done yet, but not surprising in view of his previous consistent scoring in the low 80’s. He started at the 11th hole on Saturday and although his early figures did not suggest that he was likely to get under 80, his score steadily improved. He had 38 for the outward journey (which he played last) and 41 coming back. This is only Nicholson’s second season in matches, and since the present one commenced he has knocked 14 strokes off his handicap, bringing it down from 20 to 6, a most unusual performance. Five clear strokes separate Nicholson from the next best, F. H. Hughes and F. J. Perham, who are level with 84’s. R. A. Browne, J. McCreary and E. Halder are next with 85 each. These seven, should Thom continue, which is doubtful, should just about hold their places after the second round to-day and J. R. Deal, who was beaten on the 36th green by Browne in last year’s final, will probably be the other to qualify. He took 86 last week, and is now closely pressed by A. Wilson (87), A. E. Wish (88), G. Tapper (88), and O. G. Gilmour (88). The B grade championship is very open. After the first round J. W. Colquhoun and A. W. Wilson were two strokes better than anyone else with 88 each, G. E. Williams filling third place with 90. These three seem to be fairly safe for positions in the final eight, but it looks as if there will be a battle royal for the other five places. D. Davies, P. C. Clulee, J. Mills and H. W. Harris are level with 93 each, I while only a stroke away are N. Earl, I R. G. Kitto and S. C. Smith. A stroke 1

further back come W. Peters and J. L. D. Duncan. There will be a great stroke-saving contest in this divisional the Park this afternoon. A medal competition was played in conjunction with the first qualifying rounds at the Park last Saturday, the net scores in each grade being in the low 70’s. With his fine round of 79, less a handicap of 8, J. Nicholson just failed to register an outright win in the A grade, F. J. Perham tieing with him for first place with 84 —13—71. The tie was decided on the scores over the last nine holes with half handicap, Perham being the winner by half a stroke. Close behind these two were E. Halder, 85—13—72, A. Wilson, 87—14—73 and O. G. Gilmour, 88—14—74. These were the’ only ones in the A grade section whose net figures equalled or were better than the standard scratch score. With only three holes to go A. W. Wilson looked like leading the B graders with a net score well under 70, but the strokes began to mount up and he finished with 88—18—70, one stroke better than J. W. Colquhoun’s 88—17 71. They were the only B graders with gross scores under 90. Two men on the limit, G. J. Thompson and T. A. Nicholson, were round in 96 and tied for third place with 72 net. G. E. Williams (90—17—73) and C. Cassels (97—24—73) were next. There is no C grade championship at the Park this year, the Stout Cup competition, open to players with handicaps from 21 to 24 inclusive, taking its place. However, any player whose score justifies it may enter the B grade championship. The first round was played last Saturday, the best scores being: A. L. Walker 95, E. Hughes 96, T. A. Nicholson 96, G. J. Thompson 96, L. B. Smith 97, C. Cassels 97, P. Rice 102, J. Stevens 103. An interesting contest should eventuate.

It was mentioned last week that a ball lying near the mound across the second fairway at Queen’s Park could be lifted and dropped. This is not correct. Only a ball embedded in the mound can be lifted under the local rule providing for the lifting and dropping of embedded balls. It was reported that players in both grades at the Park last Saturday had been seen pressing down the turf in the line of a putt and using their feet to do so. Ulis practice is contrary to the letter and spirit of the rules, and tbe players responsible took the risk of disqualification. GORE NOTES. A four-ball match was concluded last week on the East Gore course the results being:—Kidd and D. S. McLeod 72—20—52; Scott and Macpherson 72— 15—57; Wilson and D. Paterson 77—20 —57; R. Aitken and D. M. McLeod 80 —19—61. All these pairs were going well to give the scratch score a good hiding, but the hardest luck was meted out to Scott, who was out in 33, the scratch score and had 31 for the last eight. He pulled his drive at the last hole into the gravel under the verandah of the Club house and took seven to get out, spoiling what would have been an exceptional round. Scott should have referred to the rules for a drop out and the hole would then have not been so costly. On Wednesday afternoon a friendly match between the Gore and Mataura clubs was played at the Croydon links, Gore winning by 8 games to 1. At the conclusion of the fixture Mr J. A. S. Aitken, on behalf of the Gore Club, extended a cordial welcome to the visitors, Mr Haigh replying on behalf of Mataura. The scores were as follows, the names of the Gore players being mentioned first:—Hawke lost to Willcocks, 4 and 3; Ritchie beat Cayford, 6 and 4; Domigan beat Rowe, 6 and 4; Chapman beat Haigh, 6 and 5; Aitken beat Brewster, 7 and 6: Perry beat McQuarrie, 1 up; McMillan beat Mitchel, 7 and 6; Crosbie beat Brownsey, 4 and 3; Nelson beat Shorter, 8 and 7.