N.Z. CHAMPIONSHIPS AT MIRAMAR

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 4, Issue 6, 1 December 1925, Page 58

N.Z. CHAMPIONSHIPS AT MIRAMAR

Qolf

cA Qreat Seasoru

A FTER an interval of four years, the title of “New Zealand Champion” has gone back to the South Island. Mrs. Dodgshun, the new champion, has shown wonderfully consistent form throughout the whole of this year, winning the Canterbury Open Championship at Easter ; following on with the Otago Open Championship, and now finishing with the “blue ribbon” of New Zealand golf at Miramar. Her game is remarkable for its wonderful steadiness from the tee to the green. Her free and easy swing, always with complete control of her club, is a lesson to all golfers. With her irons, and also in her short game, there is a precision that is delightful to watch. It is worthy of mention that throughout all the rounds of the championship, she was never once “down” a hole to any of her opponents. Undoubtedly her victory was a well-deserved one. Mrs. J. A. Cook, the runner-up, is also deserving of praise for '.lie manner in which she played during the meeting. In the final her defeat by so large a margin was only due to her failure on the greens. Many other players distinguished themselves during the week, namely; Mrs. Guy Williams, Misses Withers

and Chrystal (semi-finalists), Petrie, D. Horton, White-Parsons, Mrs. Dufaur, Misses Upham and Kay. Mrs. Williams, as winner of the Mellsop Cup, deserves special praise. Her defeat, in the first round of the championship by Miss S. Payton was unexpected, but she showed her true form in two wonderful medal rounds which earned for her the honour of being New Zealand’s first player with an L.G.U. handicap of “scratch.” On a “par” of 81, she returned one card of SO, and another of 78, the latter being a ladies’ record for the Miramar links. In Misses Upham and Kay, New Zealand has two most promising young players. After such brilliant form last year at Hamilton, much was expected of Miss Kay, but she was unfortunate in meeting Mrs. Dodgshun in the first round. Her medal rounds showed, however, that she is still playing great golf, though lacking, perhaps, the steadiness and resource of an experienced player. Miss Upham is to be congratulated on her good performance. For one so young in golf, it was excellent. The meeting at Miramar will be long remembered as a most successful one. The course was in excellent order, the greens were good, the weather was good, and so was the golf ! Surprises of the Cjame THE opening of the tournament at Miramar was marked by a number of surprises, which added much zest to the games. The greatest surprise was in the first round of the championship, when Mrs. Guy Williams was defeated by Miss S. Payton, of Rotorua by two up. Earlier in the afternoon Mrs. Williams had headed the field in the medal competition with a gross score of 80, while Miss Payton could do no better than 101. Further unexpected results came in the second round when Miss Gamrill (Miramar) and Miss Olive Kay (Whangarei), the Auckland champion,

were both defeated. However, Miss Kay had this satisfaction, that her successful opponent went on and won the championship in most convincing style, so that it may have been a case of “being put out of her agony quickly.” Miss Gambrill succumbed to Miss Withers (Geraldine). The former apparently was right “off colour” and could do nothing right with her wooden clubs, while Miss Withers played excellent golf. In the opening stages of the championships the Aucklanders did particularly well, but after the third round they “went down like ninepins.” Miss Withers, still playing with great consistency, accounted for Miss M. Payton, whose direction was at fault, but still played her iron shots perfectly. It was a close game. Miss Cullen’s colours were lowered after a close game by Miss Jarvis (Hutt), and Mrs. Cook (Otago), who finished as runner-up to the champion, just managed to defeat Miss Upham 2 and 1. In the semi-finals, played in perfect weather, Mrs. Dogshun, Otago, met Miss Jervis, Hutt. The latter missed her chance at the seventh hole, but played a fine game against odds. At the thirteenth the Hutt player made three superb shots, which gave her a chance of holing out in four, but unfortunately she took five. At this hole Mrs. Dodgshun took six, but still was three up. Fourteen was halved with three’s. The next Miss Jervis won, but missed a short putt for the sixteenth, and Mrs. Dodgshun won the game three and two. Mrs. Cook (Otago) was rather more reliable than her opponent, Miss Withers (Geraldine), although the latter played very well throughout the tournament. In the long play there was not much to choose between the pair, but on the greens Mrs. Cook showed greater steadiness and thus won four and three. MRS. Dodgshun soon established a lead in the first round of the championship, and from time to time increased it, although her club-mate,

Mrs. Cook, played gamely and fought out each hole. After leaving the fifth hole Mrs. Cook got into the rough and then played into a bunker, while Mrs. Dodgshun took the hole in three splendid shots. However, Mrs. Dodgshun met difficulty after leaving the sixth. She duffed her drive, and then her second, and also found a bunker. She gave up this hole to Mrs. Cook, who was on the green in three. At the ninth bad putting beat Mrs. Cook, where the game was in her club-mate's favour with four up. Approaching the last hole of the round Mrs. Dodgshun got bunkered, but nevertheless ended the round five up. In the afternoon Mrs. Cook had a formidable task to start off with, in being five down, but she played with great tenacity, and was applauded on winning the tenth in three after a beautiful second and a good shot on the green. The eleventh hole was disastrous to both players. Both found a ditch from the tee. Mrs. Cook hit her ball only a yard, and her second did not move the ball at all, nor her third. She then played backwards, and eventually took ten to hole out. Mrs. Dodgshun got out of her ditch with her second, then fell in the rough and took two to get out, but

ended up with nine, thus winning a disastrous hole. The Otago champion thus won the Dominion championship with eight up and seven to play. A (bourse T^ecord A/TRS. Guy Williams put up a new record , for the Miramar links in the bogey contest by goingout in 38 and returning in 40. She narrowly missed a putt on the tenth green which, had she succeeded, would have made her score still better. ’Wellington (championship 'C'OLLOWING close upon the DoA minion championship tournament the Wellington provincial title was contested, and after excellent com-

petition the honour was won by Miss Chrystall, of Christchurch, who defeated Miss N. Jervis (Hutt) by one up and three to play. Mrs. Guy Williams, who has had a wonderfully successful career as a golfist, started her round of championships this season particularly well, but during the Wellington tournament was obviously getting stale on her game. After her great achievements at Manawtau and Wanganui, where she won both championships, she seemed to lose her dash during the Dominion tournament at Miramar. The strain of so much match-play evidently was too much even for such a robust lady enthusiast as Mrs. Williams, and it would be wise if a greater space of time could elapse between the principal provincial championships and the tournament for the highest New Zealand honours. As a Wellington writer says, the fact that players can take part in these four meetings in a comparatively short time is no doubt an attraction, but in the interests of both golf and the players, a longer interval would be desirable. The South Island, in annexing the Wellington provincial championship definitely established its pre-emin-—for this seasonin New Zealand ladies ’golf. The South Island provided the New. Zealand champion and the runner-up, and won the North v. South teams match, and it only required Miss Chrystall’s victory to complete the North Island’s discomfiture. It is a great number of years since the South Island has been able to put such a number of strong players into the field, and they are to be congratulated on their success, and on the devotion to the game which has merited it.