GOLF.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 144197, 13 September 1913, Page 8

GOLF.

(By "'All-Square.”) The New Plymouth Club ladies will play a bogey tnaicti on Tuesday ror Mrs. Hutton s prize. Un Thursday next a medal round in the Thursday Cup competition will be played by the i\ew Plymouth Club men.

I). G. Soutar, writing in the Sydney Sun, says; Tuo open championship is over, and two amateurs have hoaued the list by same or the finest golf seen in Australia. id;, opinion is that tvo Muittou, me Winner, and A. K. Cempnere, the runner-up, played phenomenal goil, equal to mat 01 me great prolessiuuals oi me Old Country, "tv hit ton's score, bon lor me lour rounds, is 19 belter tlia.iL that with whieu be won the open championship last year. Certainly tins year s weather was better, but the golf also was much belter. Carnegie Clark won in. Adelaide in PJIO with add, but tbe Seaton course is shorter tuan Sandringham. After the third round the event became a tussle between Whitton and 1/cmpriere. Tbe latter nut m a morning round at it, equalling the competition record of the course, lie naturally thought ho had wiped olf some of the live-stroke lead obtained by Whitton on tho first day’s play, but the boy champion, alter commencing, iuditferontly, came in with the phenomenal itgures oI 3,4, (J, 4, «f. T, if, 5, 4—do. Considering llie westerly breeze, which by that time was coming oil. the sea, this was rattling good going, illurdocn had u great chance ot beating, the record and cutting down his over-night delicit, but bo cracked up unaccountably at tbe last two boles, and finished /d. , .

Carnegie Clark was sound and solid with 7i, with live 3s, seven 4's, and six s’s. 1 met my Waterloo at the Mill, where 1 completely failed in the hunker, digging in the sand five shots. How this was 1 cannot explain, for my golf had been good. N. E. Christoe also met disaster there. Whitton started in tho afternoon with a fcad of live from Lempricre, 13 from Murdoch, and 15 from Clark, Stewart (tho young Adelaide professional), and myself. Lompriero look 5 at the' short first, but thereafter commenced to overhaul Whitton, and a most exciting match proceeded. Both played with apap and extraordinary accuracy, their deadly iron work being perhaps the most striking feature of their games. On the return journey it reany looked as if Whitton was letting tilings go from him, Lompriero being within two strokes of him at the 13th. Then Whitson at this crucial moment got phenomenal golf out of himself. Ho finished 4,4, o, 4, holing putts of 10ft., 12ft., and 10ft on the last three greens, and winning by three strokes. The dash of this finish showed what marvellous reserve tho champion has, and how complete is his command over his young nerves. Whittou goes to England in January, and X predict great things for him then and when he returns in 1915. The rest of us played merely golf. X had a steady go in the afternoon. , Clark took 8X amf Stewart 83, so I beat them for tho first professional prize. Popplewell again disappointed, but it must bo said Unit lie to-day and Clark yesterday. Were badly handicapped- by the Whitton nailery, which showed no consideration for Whitton’s partners, and cost thorn many strokes. j ,

The best scores in the_morning wore_: Whitton 73. Lempriere 73, Murdoch 75, Morrison 75, Clark 77, Lefevro 78, Maiden 79, Rigby 79, Clements 81, Fawcoll 81. Brookos 81, Quirk 82, U. S. Banks 82, Tom Smith 83, Ricldoll 83, Stewart 83, Barritt 83, Spicer 83, Christoe 84 Eaves 85, Law Smith 84. and S. S. Mann 86. Christoe was one of those who found trouble at the 14th, taking an eight after being oht in 39. In the final round in the afternoon tho best scorers were;—A. R. Lompriere 78, Soutar 80, Whitton 80, Law Smith 80, Brookes 80, Carnegie Clark 81, Popplewoll 81. Clements,Bl. Stewart 83, T. Smith 83, Rigby 84, Murdoch 84, Eaves 85, Burnham 85, Spicer 85, Banks 86, .Maiden 86, Christoe 86, Ross Gore 86.

Whitton won with a score of 302. The next best scores wore:—Lompriero 305 Soutar 317, Murdoch 319, Stewart 336!

Speaking of the winner, the Referee said: <4 lvo Whitton is nearly 21 years of age, and is an amateur, and loarnt practically all his golf at the Metropolitan Golf Club. Melbourne. Ho has the true golfing temperament in a marked degree, and is the soundest and most brilliant exponent of the game in those parts, it was a marvellous performance for such a young amateur to win the Open Championship of Australasia twice in succession, and by plav which would favourably compare' with that shown by the leading professionals in the Old Country. His first three rounds of 76, 73. and 73 were worthy of Braid, Taylor, and Vardon at their best. It is reported that Whitton will lie visiting England next year, when ho will try his skill against the world’s best players. AVhitton’s forte is stroke play, and he has yet to show us that ho is equally as good in match-play. If ho is not a great matchplayer, then ho will have no chance in the British Amateur Championship, as that event is decided solely by matchplay. After Whitton came A. R. Lcmprioro, another amateur, whoso play was little inferior to that of the winner. At the end of the first round Whitton led Lempriere by 4 strokes, and ho ultimately, beat him by only 3 strokes; so in the last throe rounds Leinpriero actually gained one stroke on his brilliant* rival. It was a hitter pill for the professionals to bo beaten in this way. as So mar, the first among them, was beaten by 15 strokes. They, however, took their defeat like true sportsmen, and openly acknowledged the superior play of the two Victorian amateurs. AVhitton’s victory was extremely popular, and what made it more so was that last year a protest was lodged against him for an infringement of one of the rules; and although such protest was dismissed by the Australian Golf Union and the championship awarded to him, the New South AVnlos Golf Association sent a case to St. Andrews, and the- Rules Committee decided that AVhitton acted wrongly in teeing whore ho did. Of course, the St, Andrews ruling could Pot affect AVhitton, but still it - maclo it rather unpleasant for him, and many people sympathised with him after his brilliant* vetory. This year there was no protest, and Whitton was doubly congratulated, AVith reference to the before-mentioned case with the Now South Wales Golf Association submitted to St. Andrews, it is now reported from Melbourne that last week the Australian Golf Union put it on record that such was not the case as reported to the union by two of its officers.”