AMATEUR GOLF

Evening Star, Issue 20137, 30 March 1929, Page 15

AMATEUR GOLF

CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT CLOSE MATCHES IN FIRST ROUND Close matches were in evidence in the first round oi : the Otago amateur golf championship, played at Balinaceivcn this morning. The fact that practically all the games were carried on either to the eighteenth hole or beyond it speaks for itself. A notable exception was the match between J. A. Morgan and C. B. Wight, the Lnmsden man trouncing the player from St. Clair by 6 up and 5 to play. Another country player who did well was J. A. M'Lennan, of Roxburgh, who beat J. G. Diek by 2 up. The slight intermittent showers in no way interfered with the perlonnances, lor, although the course was a Irillc slower than yesterday, the players, with few exceptions, produced good golf, and if cards had been banded in the aggregate would have been entirely satisfactory.

In the bands of the Otago Club secretary (Mr G. 11. G. Smith), the arrangements for tlio tournament have been efficiently adhered to. W. G. Wight and J. Spence played a round of fluctuating fortunes, and if stroke play had been the order of the day they each would have handed in excellent cards. At no stage was cither player more than a hole up on the other. They were all square at the fifth, at the turn, at the fourteenth, and at the sixteenh. The seventeenth was halved in a nice three, and Wight won the last hole, this making him 1 up. W. Clayton and F. V. Drake had a very close game, and some indication of the good scoring on each side can be gleaned from the fact that four holes wero won in three. _On the Journey out the third, .sixth, and eighth holes were halved, but Drake who had won the second, fifth, and seventh, was still one up at the turn after losing the ninth. Coming home, however, Clayton showed infinitely better form, winning the tenth and fourteenth, and playing!' himself into the strong position of dormic two. Drake took the seventeenth, but a half at the eighteenth left Clayton a winner by one hole.

13. V. 'Wright succeeded in heading off 1). if. Butcher only after a prolonged but vein- interesting struggle, which, took tile pair to the twentyfirst hole. Wright got a good three at the third. From then on to the sixth all the holes were halved in liar, but Butcher took the seventh with a throe, one under par. Wright had the misfortune to lose his hall at the ninth, Butcher , being 2 up at this stage. .At the eleventh Butcher took three putts, and losi. the hole, but made amends by winning the next two, leaving him three up and four to play, it was then that Wright asserted himself, and hy means of excellent golf made the match all square at the last hole. The oven nature of the round then manifested itself again. At the twentieth Butcher missed his putt by a fraction, and at the twenty-first Wright finished the match in convincing fashion.

One of the surprises of the morning was the defeat of J. (». Didr by J. A. M‘Lcmian, of Roxburgh. Dick was in good form, hut the player from the country at times produced some quite phenomenal golf. At the turn lie was out up on the Dunedin man, the scores then, being 137 and 38, according to stroke reckoning. The tenth went to Dick in a good 3. and 'Tipperary in 5. .However, MfLcnnan again came to the fore and collected Manuka and Boy’s. Dick, with a 5 effort made it square at the next- hole. However, AHLcnnan was not to be denied. At the seventeentli be .secured a nice 3 and finished up two holes to the good. Another dose engagement was that staged between J. W. Trcwcru and J. K. Matheson. Here again the match went beyond the eighteenth hole. Trewern was in a very consistent mow), and led practically all the way. Towards the end he was two up and three to play, but Matheson then made a commendable effort and the pair were square at the home hole. At the nineteenth Trewern sank a loft putt for 4 and won the round. Some excitement also centred around the game betwen S. C. Col beck and E. A. Reed. In the initial stages tiie putting was hardly up to the. expected standard. Three holes on the journey out were halved, but Col heck established a lead of 2 up at the turn by taking the seventh, eighth, and ninth in "4. After being 1 down at ’Tipperary, Reed captured three holes in succession. Colheck won the fiftentii in 3, but Reed answered by taking the next in 4. Reed had a putt to square matters at the seventeenth, but just missed. Colbcck took the match by one hole. The last pair in (G. F, Barnett and B C. Haggitt) followed the examples set by the majority of the others, and contested a close, interesting round. Not until the ninetenth green was the matter settled, Barnett then annexing the hole and the match with an excellent 3 to his opponent's 4 The results of this morning’s play (the first round of the amateur championship) are as follow: S. C. Colheck (Otago) beat E. A. Reed (Otago), I up. W. Clayton (St. Clair) beat F. A - Drake (St. Clair). 1 up. W. G. Wight (Otago) beat J. Spence (Otago), 1 up. B. V. Wright (Timaru) beat D, H. Butcher (Otago) at the 21st.

,T. A. Mangan (Ltimsdcn) beat C. LL Wight (St. Clair). 6 and 5. J. A. M'Lennan (Roxburgh) beat G. Dick (Otago), 2 up. T. W. Trewern (Otago) beat J. E, Matheson (St. Clair) at the 19th. G. F. Barnett (Otago) heat B. CL Haggitt (Otago) at the 19th.