SHAW WINS AGAIN

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 90, 13 October 1934, Page 13

SHAW WINS AGAIN

THE PROFESSIONAL TITLE

AMATEUR FINALISTS

(By Telegraph)

(Special to the "Evening Post.") WANGANUI, October 12.

The professional golf title of New Zealand was won thfs afternoon by A. J. Shaw, who' last . week had . already won the open championship. The amateur serai-finalists- are Silk and Mortland,' both of whom gained decisive victories. The weather was overcast, but perfect for golf. . Results: — Amateur Championship. . Semi-finals. B. M. Silk beat I. MacEwan, 7 and 6. J. P. Mortland beat L. Cathro, 8 and 6. Professional Championship. Final. A. J. Shaw beat E. S. Douglas at the 37th. . ' ■ N.Z. Plato. • Semi-finals. A. E. Guy beat C. J. Ward, 1 up. K. Ross beat W. X. Kuru, 1 up. Final. A. E. Guy beat K. Ross, 4 and 3. Amateur Stroke Handicap. R. B. CaiT, 7S, 7—71. Kapi Tareha, -7(1, 3—73. N. H. Amon, 81, 8—73. The semi-finals of the amateur championship resulted in hollow victories lor | Silk over MacEwan and Mortland over Cathro. It was left for the professionals Shaw and Douglas to provide the entertainment of the afternoon, and their prolonged struggle was a fitting finish to a contest in which the title-holder again evidenced his remarkable resourcefulness in adversity. . The gallery of about 500 paid little attention to the amateurs, and their judgment in following the professionals was fully rewarded. Their sympathy was undoubtedly with Douglas. They wanted to see the champion dethroned, not so much because they did not appreciate the pent of Shaw's game, but because ot the' natural instinct to see the under-dog have his day. Douglas, 3 up with 6 no es to play had every chance, but he slipped over the crucial part of the journey, never looking like holing a putt which would have enabled him to maintain his lead. MacEWAN'S DEBACLE. Of the amateurs, MacEwan promised to test Silk when ho wiped out the lead of 2 up at the 3rd hole in the afternoon. A mistake at the short sth hole, where he shanked his iron, was the start ot a debacle. The Wanganui player won this hole and each succeeding one to the l.th, or 30th. This left him dormy 7, and a half at' the 12th was the end. Silk had a fortuitous 3 at the 7th, or 2oth, ho c, where he sank a putt irom the edge ot the jzreen. This incident shattered the assured Aucklander's hopes, apparently, and bilk ■was always ,his master until they halved the second short hole, the 12th, in the afternoon round, and the match was o\er. Mortland lost only two of Ins morning lead of 7 up in the first nine holes of the afternoon round, and then took three in a row and settled the issue at the same hole as, Silk had done. Mortland .never looked like crashing, and when tested was always equal to holing long putts. It must have been a heart-breaking happening to Cathro when Mortland consummated his faultless play about and on the greens by holing a chip of jutt at the 7th hole in the afternoon, making him 6 up. Again, if the Taihape. player reproduces the same golf tomorrow, then Silk will have to reveal better match play than he hae hitherto shown in order to ■win his first New Zealand title. MASTERLY LAST STROKE. Shaw in the first three holes wiped out Douglas's morning lead, but was again 2 down at the turn. He got one back at the short hole starting home, but was outplayed at the Long Tom and at the following short hole, thus becoming 3 down. Three putts on the" next two greens saw Douglas's lead diminished to 1, but when he got a perfect 2 at the nest and was 2 up again his position was comfortable. Even though he might lose Bunker's Hill, the 17th, the odds were on him dethroning the champion, lhe 17th was halved, and Douglas was 1 up. At the last hole, the referee, J. P. Hornabrook, judged the drives equidistant from the green, and on tossing a coin pal et upon Douglas to play. The ball trickled into the bunker, and Slmy replied with a low-flighted iron which ran to the back of the green. Douglas had to get out ot the bunker and hole the putt to win the-match, for Shaw's 4 was apparently assured. He. played a great explosion shot from the sand, and the gallery cheered as the ball came to rest foui ■feet from the pin. Shaw then putted, overrunning the hole by a couple of feet, amid great tension by the spectators. Douglas shaped up to the putt, which, had it been successful, would have given ■to the title. It was oif the line,- and. Shaw sinking his short one, the game continued to the 37th hole. There Shaw was outdriven by a few yard., but his «eeond found the green and Doug as. replied with a low iron which finished a trifle short of the green. He took 3 to get down, whereas * Shaw found the cup ™th two putts, winning a memorable.battle Shas iron to the 18th was and will be the subect of controversy. The champion explan« its,low trajectory by the fact that kK^^iC'oSS^ play H aThe did, then it was a masterly effort.