ROUND THE GOLF LINKS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 121, 25 May 1938, Page 4

ROUND THE GOLF LINKS

MISS J. DUNCAN’S WIN AT ROTORUA By “SEAVIEW.” Golfers in the Wanganui district have in many instances got their club championships through to the matchplay stage, or else are rapidly approaching the concluding qualifying stages, having been favoured with fine weather.

The Wanganui Golf Club’s championship qualifying rounds have been completed, with B. M. Silk, New Zealand amateur champion, at the head of the list. Silk’s aggregate of 143 is ten strokes ahead of his nearest rival, and the Kitto brothers lead the rest of the first sixteen to qualify. Some interesting play is •promised in the succeeding stages. Only the first qualifying round of the Seafield Golf Club’s championships has been played, and here A. R. Kitto leads M. Casey by five strokes. Perhaps the second round may see some alterations made in the order of the first sixteen. Miss J. Duncan, of the Wanganui Ladies’ Golf Club, is given credit for a particularly steady exhibition of golf in winning the open championship or the Rotorua Ladies’ Golf Club in last week’s tournament. This was the second year in succession in which she had won this title. In the final Miss Duncan defeated Mrs. G. W. Foote, of Whangarei, 7 up and 5 to play. Adverse weather conditions on Thursday marred what would otherwise have been one of the most interesting tournaments of the club. Both the semi-finals and the final had to be played in the rain, with the course becoming increasingly difficult. In spite of these conditions, however, the interest in the concluding matches was maintained until the end and in the afternoon a large gallery, with umbrellas and well protected by overcoats and mackintoshes, closely followed both matches. In the morning Miss Duncan had her hardest match of the tournament when she met Mrs. E. L. Barker, Rotorua. Both players gave steady exhibitions for the greater part of the IS holes. The 18th. at which the position was all square, proved disastrous for the Rotorua player, for after a good second she duffed her third, and with the fourth found a bunker. Miss Duncan was on the green for three and had no difficulty in winning, 1 up. Against the greater experience ana confidence of Miss Duncan, Mrs. Foote’s play in the final was at times]

far below the standard of her earlier matches. Although she was set a hard task to offset her opponent’s steady play and the early lead gained by Miss Duncan, she fought back gamely toward the end of the match.

Mrs. Foote started very badly oy losing the first two holes but when her opponent found a bunker on Hie third she managed to square the hole. She then lost the next four holes and was 6 down at the seventh. On the eighth, however, she played better golf and reduced her deficit to five. She was again six down on the next, after recovering well from a bunker. Miss Duncan played an excellent hole, landing on the green for one and being down in two putts.

Although faced with a deficit of six down at the turn, Mrs. Foote still continued to fight gamely and by greatly-improved play she halved three holes in succession. Against the steady plaj’ of Miss Duncan, however, her task was a hopeless one, for Miss Duncan had only to play for the half to be eventually assured of victory. With the position dormy six Miss Duncan was on the edge of the 13th

with her second and she sank her putt for four to take the hole and the match, 7 and 5.

When lan Rhodes had a serious operation a few weeks ago, the golfing public was told that the brilliant Victoria man would be out of big goir for this season, says an Australian writer But the old public schoolboys' championship which he won last year proved too great an attraction. Rhodes again contested the event, played at Victoria, and without any real practice reeled off a brilliant 71 to win the title again. Probably he will have to face an irate doctor, but he is after Ivo Whitton's record of five wins in this event. The ill-wind of a ball hooked into the edge of the rough blew some good into the way of the participants in the final of the South Taranaki women's golf championship at the Hawera golf links on Thursday. In the two or three minutes spent in the search before the required ball was found three other balls were discovered.