OPEN GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

Taranaki Daily News, 16 October 1931, Page 3

OPEN GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

SHAW LEADS IN TWO ROUNDS MACFARLANE CLOSELY FOLLOWS. BRILLIANT PLAY WITNESSED. PERFECT GOLFING CONDITIONS. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Christchurch, Last Night. The first rounds of the open golf championship of New Zealand, which will be decided on four medal rounds, were played at Shirley to-day. The course was in excellent order, though rather dry and hard. The weather was of midsummer warmth and almost without wind, making the conditions well nigh perfect for low scoring. The outstanding performance of the day was Shaw’s dazzling round of 67 in the morning. With a little more luck his score might have been. 65, which shows, the extraordinary quality of his game. Not once did he have to put down a putt of any length to make his 67, and he failed with four putts of holeable distance which he might on another day have run down. In the afternoon he held his astounding form to the 13th green, when for the first time in the day he failed to make a scratch figure. It w'as a short one-shot hole heavily guarded and known on the course as “Old Nick.” He hooked his mashie tee shot, had to approach awkwardly from the rough, failed to lay the ball dead and missed the putt for three. The 1 spell seemed to be broken after that and he made othei- mistakes, but showed his quality by recovering from an almost impossible lie at the bottom of .a' deep ditch at the 15th to get his par four. Shaw’s morning card was-: — Out: 44353444 2—33. '

In: 3 4 4 3 4 3 5 4 4—34. Total 67. Ewen Macfarlane, Shirley’s best medal player and probably the best amateur medal player in New Zealand, had good rounds of 73 and 71, one and three respectively under the scratch score. His 73 in the morning was marred by a seven at the 6th, a difficult par four hole, and six at the easy par four 14th. He made no other mistakes worth noting, and his golf, while it fell short of Shaw’s brilliant morning round,., was practically faultless. His afternoon round of 71 contained, five fives, and three of them he should have escaped. His afternoon card was:— Out: 43354444 3—34.

In: 5 5 5 3 4 3 5 4 3—37. Total 71. Butters, r. former Shirley professional, had a morning round of 70 but slipped to 79 in the afternoon.

Blair, the present Shirley professional, was 71 in the morning but weakened to 76 in the afternoon.

The best of the local professionals was C. C. Clements, whose 74 and 72 were made in spite of occasional missed putts. Next to Macfarlane the best amateurs were J. A. Millard (74 and 74), A. G. Sime, (74 and 75) and B. M. Silk (75 and 75). Unless Shaw does another overwhelming round to-morrow there may be a close finish in' the open, possibly with the lowest aggregates on record. The following are the scores: — First Second

A. J. Shaw round, round. Tl. .. 67 73 140 E. M. Macfarlane . .. 73 71 144 C. C. Clements . .. 74 72 146 H. R. Blair .. 71 76 147 J. A. Millard ...... .. 74 74 148 R. C. Butters ..' 70 79 149 A. G. Sime ..•’■■74 75. 149 J. D. McIntosh .... .. 78 72 150 B. M. Silk .. 75 75 150 J. Lambie ■» .. 77 73 150 J. Goss .. 78 73 151 A. R. Blank .. 75 ■ 76 151 R. T. Tosswill .... .. 76 76 152 J. L. Black .. 73 79 152 C. A. Seymour .... .. 78 75 153 B. J. Smith junr. . .. 76 77 153 J. Bidwill .. 80 73 153 B. V. Wright ...• 72 81 153 .. 78 76 154 W. A. Keeling ,,.. ..76 78 154 H. A. Black ~ .. 82 72 154 M. Duncan .. 78 76 154 .. 78 77 155 D. C. Collins ....... .. 72 83 155 F. Branch .. 76 79 155 W. O’Callaghan .... 78 77 155 E. S. Douglas .. 81 75 156 J. Forrest .. 77 79 156 A. D. S- Duncan .. .. 76 81 157 J. W. Ross j. 77 81 158 J. A. Clements .... .. 79 79 158 R. C. Abernethy .. .. 77 81 158 L. Buist .. 77 82 159 A. Dyke .. 78 81 159 G. B. Forrest ...... .. 81 78 159 K. S. Glendinning-., 80. . 79 159 S. C. Colbeek ... .. 81 ' 79 160 J. A. Scouler .. 76 84 160 J. P. Mortland .... .. 72 88 160 .1. A. Bott .1 i .. 83 79162 K. C. Ward .. 79 83 162 J. L. Petlev .. 85 78 ' 163 J. P. Hornabrook .. .. 83 80 163 N. H. Fuller .. 83 81 164 A. S. McCallum .... •. 85 79 164 J. Watt .. 85 80 165 B. J. Smith .. 79 89 168 .1. Mowat .. 81 87 168 R. A. Wilson .. 82 87:169 R. Fox .......... .. 92 79 171 D. H. Butcher .... .. 87 85 172 E. A. Dalton .. 93 84 177