Golf: Burgess grabs matchplay title

By BOB PEARCE

CHRISTCHURCH - Tauranga golfer Eddie Burgess won the national matchplay title at Shirley yesterday but lost his place in the New Zealand team for the world championships.

The 22-year-old beat Australian Andrew Webster 5 and 3 in the 36-hole final, winning the last four holes and clinching victory with a brilliant birdie on the 402m 33rd hole.

But as far as the selectors were concerned it was not enough to earn him a place in the four-man team for the Eisenhower Trophy in Germany in August.

The four chosen are Richard Best from Palmerston North, Carl Brooking (Christchurch), Gareth Paddison (Manor Park) and Reon Sayer (Carterton).

Burgess was philosophical about not making the team, despite winning the last two South Island championships and playing well recently in Australia.

"To be honest, I would have been surprised if I had got in," he said. "Last time when I got in others would have been unlucky. If I had been a selector, this is the team I would have picked."

The other player from the last world championship to be dropped is Chris Johns (Auckland), who finished second in the strokeplay at Shirley but was unable because of his job to play in all the qualifying tournaments "I'm shattered," he said. "I'm sure the boys they have picked will do well, but it's not good for golf when an incumbent who is playing well misses out," Johns said.

"I've got the lowest stroke average in the country so I can't believe I missed out."

The selectors must also have looked hard at the form of youngsters Brad Shilton (Te Awamutu) and Eddie Lee (Christchurch), but opted for experience.

Any controversy over the selections should take nothing away from Burgess' achievement in winning the matchplay title.

Both he and left-hander Webster had comfortable wins 7 and 6 over Sayer and Nicholas Davey respectively, with Webster eight under the card.

And when he raced to a two-hole lead after nine holes of the final, yet another Australian champion seemed in prospect. But Burgess had three birdies on the inward nine to reach halfway one up.

The Tauranga man was regularly outdriving Webster by up to 20m and when the Australian lost his confidence on the greens his compact game began to fray at the edges.

Burgess was still one up after 29 holes, but then rolled in a 4m putt for birdie on the 30th while the Australian missed from half that distance.

Webster made a mess of the next two holes and Burgess finished the match when he put his eight-iron second on the 33rd close to the pin for a conceded birdie.

Burgess, a member at Tauranga for 10 years, is the first national champion from the club since Mike Nicholson won the strokeplay and matchplay in 1973.

Brad Heaven (Remuera) won the plate event, Andrew Duffin (Brisbane) the R and A Rosebowl and Matthew Bluett (Rotorua) the R and A Plate.