Geoff Saunders wins golf title

Press, 17 April 1979, Page 30

Geoff Saunders wins golf title

By

R. T. BRITTENDEN

The thirteenth at Shirley is probably the most demanding hole on the course, but it will be treasured ground for Geoff Saunders, who yesterday won the Canterbury matchplay golf championship for the first time.

In his semi-final with the alented Des Turner, Saunters came from rough at the eft of the fairway to skirt a junker, and then hole a 10m putt for a birdie which gave aim a decisive two-up lead.

In the final with Murray Brown, Saunders was again left of fairway, with a slender but forbidding tree in his way. He had rhe choice of trying to go right and draw the ball round the bunker in front of the pin, or take a left-hand route and fade the shot. The wind would have helped a draw; the slope of the approach to rhe green argued a course to port.

Saunders played a quite superb faded iron to put his ball 4m from the hole, save his par, halve the hole and preserve his precious two-up lead. Little wonder he later described the shot as his best of the tournament. So Saunders went on to win his first match-play Canterbury title, at the ripe old age of 25. Such success as seemed inevitable, since he first appeared in this tournament as a schoolboy. In fact this was only his fourth attempt. The event used to be held at Labour Day week-end, and his law studies kept him out of ; t. Two years ago he played, but with a damaged wrist. He was a competitor last yean This time, he looked a champion from the start of a great day of golfing entertainment. Brown, only a year Saunders’ senior, and also in the final for the first time, provided fine opposition. He has steadied and improved

his game immensely since his pyrotechnics as a youth, and particularly in the last two years has he managed to keep the ball straighter much more often. Although behind from the first hole, he took Saunders to the 17th. But putting recently has been an in-and-out business for him, and in the final he missed too many reasonable chances ■ — at least five of them.

It was a lovely day for golf, for Shirley was without the chill and churlish easterly which so often mars autumn golf in Christchurch. Brown had a long, hard struggle before he overcame Rickie Vincent in the morning. Brown is a very strong hitter off the tee, but Vincent, with his more relaxed and rather more fluent style, kept on terms with him.

It was a dreadful start for Brown — bunkered at each of the first three holes. He lost the first two, but won the third when he came out of the sand supremely well. Over the first few holes, Vincent looked a relaxed and capable golfer, but Brown’s aggression began to tell. Vincent seemed to hasten his swing a little, and his game deteriorated just enough to let Brown in. The other semi-final, between Saunders and Turner, was as exciting as any in recent memory, with superb displays by both players. At the turn, Turner was one under the card, but two down, for Saunders was out in 34, three under. Their best-ball score at that stage was six under — some

measure of the brilliance of the chipping and putting, in particular. Turner played a great bunker shot to get his par 4 and win 10, but then Saunders birdied 13 and went to three up at 14. There Turner essayed a low running second, but found the middle of an intervening tree trunk. Someone, rather unkindly, pointed out to the former Australian player that it was a eucalyptus. Three up playing 16, Saunders was in trouble. But down went an extraordinary putt of 13m for the half and the match. This remarkable game ended with each of them at 24 putts for the 16 holes. Saunders missed five greens, Turner eight, Not unexpectedly, the final produced fewer fireworks. At the first hole Brown played a tentative approach and was a trifle short, but he was then short with his chip and his putt, to lose to a par 4. Saunders was always in front after that, and his lead probably accounted in some measure for his rather more wary putting. In terms of scoring, it was not a great match. Saunders was six over at the end, Brown eight. Brown, still driving splendidly, missed four fairways, Saunders seven. But Saunders Hailed to get to eight greens in regulation figures, Brown nine. Saunders had 32 putts, Brown 33. But if the cold figures argue golf of modest quality, lapses are almost inevitable in the last match of a tournament, and the particular pressures it brings.

Saunders was without his magic touch, but Brown had many opportunities of halving or winning holes. His putting, however was not as sonud as it had been in the morning. He three-putted three times.

For all that, it was a tense struggle, Brown, making another disappointing start, was two down after three. But he resisted strongly from that point. His drives sometimes put him 30m or more ahead of Saunders, and he won 4 with two magnificent shots followed by a perfect pitch and a birdie putt from 2m. Brown missed a 2m putt which would have won 5 and was in the creek at 7. Even so, after Saunders had fluffed a chip. Brown had a chance but again missed a reasonable putt. The best of it was at 9. There Brown was on the' green with a 4-iron second, but his prize was snatched away when Saunders chipped in dead; it was a half in birdies. A tendency to underclub hampered Brown now and then, but he won 10 well, only to threeputt the short 11th and go two down again. Brown also lost 15, after a magnificent shot from the rough to the back of the green. He elected to putt down the slope, but was much too light. He had a reprieve at 16, where a great putt of 10m bustled into the hole, jumped, and fell back in, for a 4 and a win. At the last hole Saunders’s tee shot was bunkered. But Brown, from right of the fairway, pulled his iron very wide

and he could not hole the 3m putt he needed to keep the game alive. It was not great golf, in the final stages. But there was no doubt that Saunders 1 was the best player in the field, a deserved champion. Results. — SENIOR G. C. Saunders beat D. N. Turner 3 and 2. M. G. Brown beat R. M. Vincent 3 and 2, Saunders beat Brown 2 and 1. Plate: F. J. Poskitt beat D. Marks 2 and 1, H. J Henderson beat G. Hanna 1 up, Poskitt beat Henderson 1 up. INTERMEDIATE 1 P. Heasley beat B. E. Smith 4 and 3, N. Reid beat N. M. Hilton 3 and I, Reid beat Heasley 4 and 3. Plate: A. Williams beat P, Hawkins. G. Black beat A. E. Vincent 3 and 1. Williams beat Black at the 19th. JUNIOR W. J. Dockery beat B. Holmes at the 19th, 9. Carr beat J G. Buchan 3 and 2, Dockery beat Carr 1 up. Plate: R. Karaitiana beat T. M. Molloy. A. Sloane beat R. Flaws at the 21st. Sloane beat Karaitiana 2 and 1. HANDICAP EVENTS Senior: M. Fry beat G. Kerk, C. H. Naim beat P. McDonald 5 and 4, Fry beat Nairn 3 and 1. Plate: M. Roche beat J. Ellerm, J. R. Parlane beat J. N. Williamson 2 and 1, Parlane beat Roche. Intermediate: N. D. Henderson beat B. R. Porteous 3 and 2, R. K. Rennell beat D. J. Marshall 1 up, Henderson beat Rennell t up. Plate: R. Buchanan beat L. Elliott I up, J. H. Fisher beat C. Pettigrew 3 and 2, Fisher beat Buchanan 2 and 1. Junior: M. Minson beat M. Chick 4 and 3. E. A. Graham beat P. Donnelly 3 and 1, Graham beat Minson 2 and 1. Plate: A. J. Curtis beat J. F. Brethell 2 and 1, H. C. Smith beat K. Morgan 3 and 2. Smith beat Curtis 1 up.