GOLF.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 138, 17 July 1914, Page 3

GOLF.

Those golfers" who visited Shirley on "Saturday last saw some excellent golf in the match between Wood and won by the latter, three up :and one to play. It was a match in which a "made" player contested with a natural one, and, as is often the result, the natural golfer came out on top. Wood is essentially a player who has been coached into his game, and his progress has been truly wonderful. A feature of last Saturday's contest was the putting, which at times was very indifferent. That this may be in part attributable to the state of the greens there is no doubt. Some of them were in wretclied condition, and innocent of grass in places. When all is said and done, two players like Wright and Wood should be moderately certain of holing two-foot putts on a good green. •On Saturday many putts of this length were missed by both players. Wood had •extraordinarily bad luck in breaking his driver at the fourth tee. It was a brassie-driyer, and a club, to which he was very -much attached. Aiiy> golfer knows the results of such a niisHap, and there, is -no doubt that breaking a club that one for four years or so must invariably, upset one's game; A little later Wood had something else to upset him, when Wright holed a fourteen-yard putt at the fifth. Wood fought a losing fight all iay with great grace, and there is no doubt that he was playing magnificently, with much bad luck.

The feature of the first day's play in the Scottish Open Championship was the afternoon round of Willie Watt, who, with.a splendid score of 68, broke the record of the course, displacing George Duncan's previous record of 70. Watt was out in 35, but his home play for i>3 was simply superb. At ,the eleventh he holed his pitching run for a 2, and his only 5 in the homeward half was at the seventeenth, where he took three putts. The details of his score .were:—Out: 4, 3, 5, 4, 3, 5, 2, 5, 4; 35. Home: ?,, 2, 4, 4, 3, 4, 4, 5, 4: 33. Total, 68. Subsequently Watt won the contest. ' The result of the French championship might have been still closer but for a peculiar incident that occurred near the finish. Ouimet had lost two holes of a four-hole lead, with five holes to go, and there appeared to be just a chance of his opponent pulling him in. At the fourteenth Ouimet was a yard from the hole in :\, and Topping failed to hole out a putt of four yards to secure a half. He was so disgusted that he gave up the hole and strode off the green, though Ouimet's putt was quite a miss able one. As a matter of fact, the latter did make a careful attempt to hole out —and missed. Moral: Don't concede putts of a yard. Moral No. 2: When your opponent concedes a yard putt don't putt out. He will be apt to regret his generosity if you miss.