Women vie for golfing glory

It is often referred to as the gentleman's game, but this Tuesday will see the gentlewomen of Wairarapa strut their stuff on the greens.
The annual women's Wairarapa Golf Open is all set to tee off and 50 keen players will be trying to drive, chip and putt their way to glory over one day and 36 holes of stroke play.
Masterton Golf Club captain Rachel Monk said the 76-year-old tournament is Wairarapa's premier women's golf event and has attracted some top-drawer players in previous years.
The winner's name would rest in good company, she said.
"Some of the names on the list are outstanding golfers, not just for Masterton but for the Wellington region."
She said the difficult nature of the Masterton course means the title could be taken out by any of competitors, depending on the form they strike on the day.
"Two rounds of stroke play on Masterton can always throw up something. The lowest handicap will be starting on a six, and anyone starting between six and 12 has a very good chance. It's much harder than those long, flat courses in Wellington."
She said hole six would probably leave some competitors with a few nightmares.
"Hole six is the toughest hole, a short down hill par four. The second shot to the green is very difficult. There are bunkers either side, the ground slopes away and if it takes any kicks you're in trouble. To get back you have to get over a nasty old rough, over two bunkers and on to a small green."
As such, conservative golf often wins out on the day and those tipped as stars don't always shine through in the end.
She said an example of a surprise winner came in 2004 when Christine Lewis, "an older member of the club", played solid golf and beat a couple of highly fancied pretenders.
"A lot of the golfers who win are very steady golfers, not spectacular."
Although the tournament has made it into its 76th year, the trophy it started out with hasn't been so fortunate.
The solid silver trophy, donated and won by Mrs Guy Williams at the inaugural tournament in 1930, went AWOL in the late 1990s after a Wellington golfer won it.
"The young woman who won it never took it home, and it went to the Miramar club, and when it came time for the cup to come home, no one could find it. Betwixt here and Miramar we have lost track of it."
She said it was a shame to have lost a valuable, both in terms of the silver and the history, trophy, but that the club was lucky enough to have a generous member and previous open winner donate a new one.
Sylvia Howden, who won the trophy in 1977, donated a new one to the tournament in 2003.