NEW LADY STAR

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 84, 30 June 1927, Page 11

NEW LADY STAR

AT AGE OF 18 YEARS WINS BRITISH AND FRENCH s„ C ? bl ?.u that last week Mlle - Simone de la Chaume won the French ladies’ championship by no fewer than 15 up tQ T !ay ’ her opponent in the final, Mrs. Johnston (England), failing to win even one hole. ..Jj" ‘ he „ course of a few weeks bimone, as she has immediately been called has won two of the major championships of the ladies, golfing world Aoiv aged only 18 years, she first impressed in 1924, when she won the British girls championship. The following year she won the French ladies’ close championship—a victory she repeated in 1926—but her finest performance ’ wa s last season when she won the French open championship, and defeated Miss Cecil Leitch in the final. WORLD'S BEST With the exception of Miss Wethered, she can be counted the world’s best P la yer. Her style is graceful and effective, and she 'is especially good with her irons—a phase where so many ladies fail. Neither Miss Wethered, Miss Leitch, nor Miss Doris Chambers, winner of the British event in 1923, were competitors this year, but there was a field of 91, including many players who had won one or another championship. OVERSEAS CHALLENGE In the preliminary rounds the overseas challenge was weakened but not arrested. Miss Susie Tolhurst (Australia) reached the third round, with Mlle. de la Chaume, and a countrywoman of hers, Mile. Manette le Blan, and Miss Virginia Wilson, who beat Miss Glenna Collett in the American championship last year. However, all these dropped out in the next rounds, and the final was eventually between Mile. de la Chaume and Miss Dorothy Pearson, an equally youthful English girl. THE FINAL The first round ran very much in Mlle. de la Chaume’s favour, but her English rival made a fine effort in the early part of the second 13 holes, and was actually only one down at the eighth. But the handicap of five holes down at the half-way stage was too much for her, and “Simone” won rather easily in the end. So the title went overseas for the first time in its history. Mile, de la Chaume led the whole way, from the first green to the last on the first 18 holes, and she made such a few errors that Miss Pearson, who began by slicing her long shots and never quite recovered from that fault, had few chances. IN THE SANDHILLS The English girl was in the sandhills from a sliced drive at the first hole which she lost; she was two down at the fourth where Mile, de la Chaume played a perfect tee shot a foot from the pin. Miss Pearson threw away a chance after being on the green at the fifth hole, and at the next she made another visit to the sandhills and became three down. Both were stymied in turn at the eighth hole which was halved, and then the French girl made her first error and lost the ninth, Miss Pearson playing a great brassie to the green to win the hole and turn two down. Her recovery was brief, however, for she pushed out her tee shot and was bunkered at the 10t!ii hole, which she gave up. Mlle. de la Chaume, in turn, visited the sandhills at the 13th and had to play her third before her opponent had played two and she had no chance here, but at the 15th Miss Pearson was three down again, for she missed a putt of no more than a yard. The English player looked like winning the 17th hole, but she failed to hole her putt after Mlle. de la Chaume had holed a five yarder and she was now four down instead of two. At the home hole Miss Pearson topped her brassie shot into a bunker and she lost that too, so that she had now to fight against the seemingly overwhelming handicap of a five holes deficit. A RECOVERY

The beginning of the second round provided a big surprise, for Miss Pearson, playing with pure British doggedness, won the first two holes, reducing the French champion’s lead to three. Mile, de la Chaume won * back the third, but the English girl won the fourth and halved the fifth. Miss Pearson, continuing to play steadily, won the sixth and seventh amid intense excitement. The eighth was halved, but Miss Pearson was in trouble all the way to the ninth, and picked up after playing five shots, leaving her opponent 2 up at the turn. It looked as though a great British recovery was going to save the situation. But it was not to be. The next two holes went to France and Miss Pearson was four down again. No longer was there any hope of a British victory, arid eventually, Mlle. de la Chaume won by five and four.