GOLFING

Hokitika Guardian, 7 October 1929, Page 6

GOLFING

MORPETH BEATS BLACK. IN AMATEUR GOLF FINAL. By Telegraph—Per Press Association.) WANGANUI, Octobor 6. The final of the New Zealand amateur golf championship between Sloan Morpeth and J. L. Black was played in brilliant weather. As the afternoon wore on, the northerly breeze of the morning freshened, and was tricky at certain holes. The large attendance of spectators shows the increasing interest that the general public is taking in golf. The interest in the match was maintained right to the bitter end. it was a keen contest between players of equal merit, hut, as frequently happens in finals, the play was not as good as was shown in some of the eliminating rounds. The battle lasted to the thirty-seventh green, where Morpeth gained the title for the third time. Final N.Z. amateur championship:— Sloan Morpeth beat J. L. Black 1 up at the 37th. Holing a good 10-foot putt at 'the first, Black drew first blood. Botli played perfect fours at the next. Black added a hole at the third by laying Morpeth a stymie, which he failed to negotiate with his niblick. Black played.the fourth badly , and conceded. Morpeth squared at the sixth with an eagle three, and he got the lead at the seventh by holing a good four, .Black taking three putts on this green. Morpeth missed an easy putt at the eighth and the game was square. At the eleventh, Morpeth got a screaming drive of nearly 300 yards, and holed in four, to Black’s five. He increased the lead to two at the thirteenth, and kept it till the sixteenth, which Blackwon in four. Black won the sixteenth in four, and stymied Morpeth at the seventeenth, which he also won in four. The play lay side by side in the bunker at the eighteenth. Morpeth, recovering the better, won the twenty-first by making a very neat approach. There was .a. thrill at the 22nd. Both' had long putts for threes. Morpeth putted first, and was only inches from the hole. Black’s putt put Morpeth in and his own ball followed on and dropped in also. Black increased the lead to two at the 25th, and at the 26th Morpeth negotiated a difficult putt, and reduced it to one. Black took three to reach the green at the 2. th, and Morpeth squared the match with a 4. Morpeth found the bunker at the 28th, and Black won in 3 to Morpeth’s 5. Black negotiated a difficult half stymie at the 29th hole, and won in 4, making him 2 up. The 3(Ttli was halved in 3, Black missing a yard putt. At the 31st, Morpeth reduced his lead to one, and, being bunkered at the 32nd, Black also lost this hole, making the match square. Morpeth had a 9-foot putt and a half stymie to negotiate at the 33rd, but be failed. The next two boles were halved, and the was all square, and one hole to go. Excitement now ran high. Black had the better drive, and Morpeth’s second was poor. Black, however, threw away his chance. He could easily have reached the green, but he selected the wrong club, and thus failed with his second, so the match proceeded to the 37th hole. Morpeth drove a beauty, a very long way—337 yards—and one of the longest ever driven—straight to the green. AVhether the strain was telling on Black, he made his worst drive of the day, and sliced, but the ball struck a car. The ball might otherwise have been out of bounds. Black made a gallant recovery, reaching the green in three, to Morpeth’s two. Morepth. however, holed in four, and brought a very successful tournament to an end. This makes Morpeth’s third championship. and thijs is the third occasion on which Black has been the runnerup. The meeting just ended was the most successful in the history of New Zealand golf. Practically every leading player competed, and, with the exception of the opening day, the weather was all that was to he desired. The management was excellent in every detail, reflecting great credit on the Committee and its very efficient Secretary, Mr Hill. The outstanding performance was Shaw’s 299 in the open, while other performances fell little short. A very pleasing feature was the number of new players to qualify in the open. AA’itli young players coming on like Seifert, Armstrong, Ward, Silk, Reilly, Mangan, B. J. Smith, and Cathro, all of whom made their first appearance (Reilly excepted, he having played last year), there is little doubt that the standard of play will continued to improve. HAMILTON, October 5. In the South Auckland golf championship final, AVyne (Hamilton) beat Laver (Te Arolia) three and one