HIS AMBITION

NZ Truth, Issue 1196, 1 November 1928, Page 17

HIS AMBITION

Collins M«anawatu Golfjitle (From "N.Z. Truth's" Palmerston North Rep.) Good golf is always the order of the daiy at the Manawatu Golf Club's open tournaments, but this year's open, decided at Hokowhitu last week, surpassed its predeces- . sors, not only m quality but also . m the. number of entries received. HAD the opening day been a. little later, both Sloan Morpeth, the New Zealand open champion, and T. H. Horton, the New Zealand amateur champion, would* have been among the competitors; but, as it was, both were unable to come north m time, because thfey could not get .away from Balmacewan m time to play m. the qualifying rounds. Sloan Morpeth, however, put m an appearance on the s second day, b.ut found 'the greens too slow after Balmacewan. He. did "a 75, and m a bogey handicap handed m a card of 3 up, an excellent performance off .the plus 4 ■mark. ' • • ' •■■' . '■ '■ ' , . At no. stage of the tournament did interest lag— interest was. far too keen for that — while the competitors and enthusiasts had cause for much discussion as to .the merits of the respective claimants ' for the laurel. ■'■■■; This year's winner was D. C. Collins,, who accounted for Ekstedt, another exMahawatu open, and club' champion, m the final after some of the best golf seen locally, for. some years had been played. ' '.' Collins is better known m the cricketing, world as having,. captained the New Zealanders : against McLaren's English eleven m 1925, but this season he has been producing better golf than ever before, the TVanganui provincial open failing to his lot a few short wqeks ago. ...:'• ' Collins •■ is a son-in-law of It. A. Abraham, the hon. secretary of the Manawatu Golf Club. Mrs. Collins 1 name' also, figures on the honors board m the Manawatu club house as^ having won ; an. open championship, th'e occasion being m 1914. Collins has been a regular competitor ■at the 7 Manawatu tournaments for the past twelve years or more, and on each occasion he has won his way through into the semi-finals, but this is the first occasion on which he has been a successful finalist.

He did not have as hard a row to hoe as did Ekstedt to qualify for the final, but had a hard-fought battle with W. A. Keeling, the Manawatu club champion, m the semi-final. Ekstedt met Rana Wagg, Lower Hutt, m the other semi-final and had fully to extend himself to win the match. • Though Ekstedt has been unable to find the time to devote to practice, he returned the best gross score of the tournament — 73 — and headed the list of those who qualified with 148. His approaching proved to be his undoing m the final, hia driving and putting bein;? equal to Collins, both men holing out some good putts. Ekstedt also lacked his opponent's sang froid, but though he was 3 down at the twelfth he made a good recovery and with a little luck would have squared the match at the fifteenth. Collins stood dormy 2 at the sixteenth, Ekstedt took the seventeenth and missed squaring the match on the eighteenth green when his third, from the eSge of the green, lipped the cup, the hole being halved m par fours — Collins winning 1 up. ! The standard of golf produced may be judged from the fact that both Collins arid Efkstedt carded ten par holes and two "birdies," Collins doing both journeys m 37, one over fours, and.Ekstedt m 38, two over fours. . •" ;' A. Seif ert, the winner of the" open . last year, was the last to qualify; .last week, and had the misfortune to meet W. A. Keeling m the first round/going under to that player on the 21st: green. The surprise of the tournament was .the success of the youngest competitor, G. Watt,: m the ;Hokowhitu Handicap. , Watt is only fifteen years .of • ag-e, and has been playing golf 'for but. 18 months. His best grdss score was, 80, and his 82—86—168 was . with'". two others the second bestrto qualify for the Hokowhitu Handicap. .... • More should be heard of this player m the future if he is ..taken care. of. Being young and but slightly built, ; he naturally has but a medium ;length drive, and lacks finish, on the greens, but nevertheless does not waste many strokes. ■■ ' ■ . ' L; Seifert, junior, met H. H. Hutchison m the ' first round of the open championship, going under 3 and 2.