GOOD GOLF AT OTATARA : NEW WOMAN CHAMPION

Southland Times, Issue 23649, 26 October 1938, Page 15

GOOD GOLF AT OTATARA : NEW WOMAN CHAMPION

By

PAR

Although the weather waS ideal for golf during the holiday week-end, there was plenty of room on the links, most golfers evidently preferring some other form of relaxation. The courses have slowed up considerably as a result of recent showers of rain. Most of the fairways at Queen’s Park have been harrowed and- top-dressed with superphosphate and guano. As a result better turf next season can be expected. Four rounds of 75 and one of 73 were played by R. B. Carr,' a handicap 2 player from Titirangi, who spent the week-end in Invercargill. One 75 was obtained at Queen’s Park and the other scores at Otatara. Carr gets great length from the tee and is a sound putter. He takes a full swing and on the long shots, especially With wood, gives the ball a hearty smack. Carr hopes to compete in the Southland championship at Otatara next Easter.

B. J. Smith, who will be competing in the championships at Balmacewan next month, had four rounds at. the week-end for an average of 72. His figures, two 71’s and two 73’s, reveal that Smith is at the top of his form. Provided his putting touch does not desert him he should again be prominrent in the championships. He and C. C. Clements will defend their professional ■foursomes title.

Among Southland amateur golfers who will be competing in the New Zealand championships will be H. W. Rogers and F. H. Huges, who will play in the qualifying rounds of the amateur championship and take part in the amateur foursomes championship. Sydney’s leading .golf professionals had a long-driving competition recently on the Glenayr driving range, Lidcombe. They had a stiff task, for they had to face a strong westerly, and sodden arid uphill ground. So the conditions were decidedly unfavourable to long hitting. V. S. Richardson had the distinction of hitting the longest drive—29s yards—while N. von - Nida was second with an effort of 245 yards. Each professional had four drives. Richardson’s drives were 259, 244, 228, 230 yards; von Nida’s, 245, 242, 240 and 235 yards. A feature was that, for the four drives von Nida aggregated 962 yards to Richardson’s 961 yards. Compared with other long drives recorded in many parts of the world, the drives of Richardson and von Nida appear short. But due consideration must be given to the conditions. ■ CLUB COMPETITIONS There was only a small field at Qtatara on Saturday, but it was decided to give those who had turned up something to play for and an unofficial Stableford handicap was held. Playing from scratch B. J. Smith scored 39 points and was the winner by two points from J. D. Strettell arid J. R. E. Sutton. Smith had a round of 71, which included birdies at the sixth, seventh, eighth, tenth and fourteenth. He was over bogey only at the second hole and the last. Strettell had another 76, his third in two week-ends. Sutton showed improved form with a round of 86. A. J. Skjellerup and G. R. Hanan, the finalists in the intermediate championship, were to have played their match on Monday, but indisposition prevented Hanan from playing. The prediction made , after .the qualifying rounds had been completed that the man who beats Skjellerup should win the title has proved an accurate one. Skjellerup has been playing a little better than Hanan lately, but of course, that is not a reliable guide to the result of a 36hole final. It should be a good match. At Queen’s Park on Saturday about 50 players took part in a four-ball bogey handicap. H. W. Norris and R. G. Scandrett won narrowly with 6 up, two pairs—E. H. Bray and J. Breen and T. S. McMillan and J. Wren—being 5 up. A one-club match on Saturday will complete the programme for the season. . , . The Queen’s Park Club will bring its season to a close on Saturday, and the prizes will be presented at a. social function in the evening. No doubt the usual sumirier programme will be arranged. Some members propose to

divide the long evenings between golf and friendly games of cricket J. E. Matheson, the Otago champion, who has had several rounds at Otatara during the past week, has been in good form, his best performance to date being 71. Matheson’s game is sound in all departments. In a semi-final of the Otago Club championship, T. C. Tyrrell defeated A. G. Sime, 1 up. For the third year in succession, P. G. F. Smith, a younger brother of B. J. Smith, won the Akarana senior championship, and on every occasion G. Coltman has filled the role of runnerup. This year Coltman was a little lucky to qualify, but he again demonstrated his match play ability by reaching the final. Smith won the first three holes in the afternoon to become 5 up and, after losing the sixth, he played a glorious shot to the seventh and almost obtained a one. He won the eighth and retained his lead to the end. Smith has had a successful season, as he won the North Island close championship, and he will be a firm favourite for the Auckland champion of champions match. WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP The quality of the golf played by Miss Suzanne Collins, who won the

women’s championship at New Plymouth last week, against Mrs R. S. Fullerton-Smith in a semi-final and against Miss Jean Horwell in the final makes her a worthy holder of the high position she now occupies. Before she played her semi-final none of the competitors had broken 80; then with the pressure on and against one of the most efficient women golfers in New Zealand, Miss Collins was under 80 twice. Her triumph was notable not only for the quality of her golf, but also for admirable fighting qualities. It would have been less surprising if she, and not Miss Horwell, had cracked at the last hole of a memorable final. It is extremely difficult to get the correct figures, particularly at the vital hole, when a good lead is being steadily reduced and looks like disappearing altogether. But this game young player—she is only 21— staged a brilliant finish and thoroughly deserved the title. Miss Horwell had several hard matches on the way to the final, in which she combined sound golf with tons of pluck. Her exhibition in the semi-final against Miss J. Duncan was flawless.

Experience is generally regarded as an. essential to success in an event like the New Zealand women’s championship but Miss Collins was taking part for the first time (says The Taranaki News). What is more, apart from the Wellington club title last year, this is the first championship of any consequence that she has won. She has competed in provincial tournaments without success, her best effort being to reach the second round at Palmerston North recently when, strangely enough, she was beaten by Miss Horwell. When Miss Collins arrived at Ngamotu she probably, like all championship competitors, entertained hopes but it is unlikely that she gave herself much hope of beating players of the calibre of Mrs Fullerton-Srpith and Miss Horwell. She had a narrow escape in the first round when she was lucky to beat Mrs Newton. In the third round, playing Miss O. Smith, she was hard pressed in the early stages. However, it was in the closing stages of this game and against Miss J. Stewart that she definitely became . a championship threat. RIGHT TEMPERAMENT

During the progress of the fixture her mother, Mrs D. C. Collins, arrived on the scene, but when Miss Collins won her way into .the final by beating Mrs Fullerton-Smith her father motored all the way from Featherston to New Plymouth on Wednesday, arriving at his destination at midnight. Though possibly not over-optimistic about his daughter's chances he probably possessed a profound faith in the family’s ability to rise to a big occasion. He felt that Suzanne ■ possessed the right temperament and she proved that this was the case.

When Miss Collins was ready to start ,for New Plymouth on the first stage of a journey that was to have such a successful ending, she found that her usual means of conveyance, a car of the baby variety, was not large enough'to carry the necessary luggage. A larger car was not available and so she commandeered her father’s 15cwt truck and set off for New Plymouth. During the fixture this truck became more or less a familiar sight at Ngamotu. During her stay at New Plymouth Miss Colliris was a member of a party of girls baching in a seaside cottage at Fitzroy. Included in this party was Miss Horwell. The pair are the greatest of friends and it was pleasing to observe the fine spirit existing in the final. At the finish, though she was naturally elated at her success, Miss Collins was feeling sorry that she had had to beat her friend to do it. COTTON’S BEST ROUND Alf Perry set up a wonderful record as winner of the Dunlop-Metropolitan golf tournament at Wentworth, Surrey, on September 22. He broke 70 in each of his four rounds. His scores were 69, 68, 67, 69. No other player has won a major tournament in this country with four rounds in the 60’s writes The Christchurch Star-Sun’s London correspondent.

It looked easy for Perry, a master of deadly putting, Whose aggregate of 273 for 72 holes left him six strokes ahead of his closest challenger, Henry Cotton. Sensational golf. Yet Perry had no monopoly of record. Cotton challenged strongly, was at his superb best in a round of 64, which broke by two strokes the record for <the course, which has a scratch score of 77. But Cotton failed in his final round. Perry carried on. consistently. He was a courageous attacker all day, unorthodox in his dashing swing, but mostly accurate. A human golfer, one who smiled and occasionally registered annoyance when shots went wrong. He took 34 strokes for the homeward nine holes of his final round, and only 12 of these were putts. He was down with one putt, the longest 10yds, on six of these nine greens. Perry had just one disaster. He hooked his second shot out of bounds at the seventeenth hole and registered the only six on his card in four great rounds. Cotton’s record 64 was different from the golf played by Perry. It was so aloof, so masterly, that surely nothing could go wrong with swing or steering. Every stroke perfect, barring two failures to reach the green with second shot. Here are the details of the round, indicating the club Cotton used for each shot:—

6701 77 64 “The best round I have ever played,” Cotton said. “I never before felt so near doing a round in the fifties.” And Cotton might have done that, granted a bit of luck on the greens. Five of his longish putts rimmed the tin, but stayed out.

What Cotton Cotton’s Hole Yds. did. Bogey score 1 455 Drive, No. 2 iron shot, two putts .... 5 *4 2 140 No. 5 iron, two putts 3 3 3 444 Drive, No. 1 iron, two putts 5 4 4 527 Drive, No. 3 iron, niblick, one putt .... 5 4 5 150 No. 6 iron, one putt 3 2 Z 6 330 Drive, No. 6 iron, two putts 4 4 7 389 Drive, No. 7 iron, one putt 4 3 8 382 No. 2 iron, No. 6 iron, two putts .... 4 4 9 443 Drive, No. 2 iron, two putts 5 4 Ttl. 3260 38 32 10 173 No. 4 iron, mashie run-up, one putt .... 3 3 11 361 Drive, mashieniblick, two putts 4 4 12 471 Drive, No. 2 iron, two putts 5 4 13 429 Drive, No. 7 iron, two putts 5 4 14 174 No. 3 iron, one putt 3 2 15 474 Drive, No. 5 iron, one putt 5 3 16 349 Drive, mashieniblick, two putts 4 4 17 520 Drive, No. 2 iron, mashie-niblick, one putt .... 5 4 18 490 Drive, brassie. two putts .... 5 4 Ttl. 3441 39 32 Out 3260 38 32 ■ ■■ T