BOWLING TOURNEY

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 45, 21 January 1938, Page 9

BOWLING TOURNEY

SINGLES TITLE TO BENNETT. MERITORIOUS SUCCESS. Per Press Association. DUNEDIN, Jan- 20. Bv beating G. C. Claridge (St. Kilua) in the final of the singles championship of the New Zealand Bowling Association, W. D. Bennett (Hastings) took the first of the three titles to be won at the tournament to the North Island. To-day was the second last day of the tournament, and the singles championship was carried through from the quarter-final stage, the pairs to a stage at which one finalist has been found, and the rinks to the semifinals.

J. R. Smith and H. B. Oakey (Elmwood) will play the pairs final to-mor-row against one of the other four pairs left in the competition, and the rinks title will ho decided between N._ H. Wilson (Linwood), who has two lives, and R. K. Aitchison (Caledonian), L. J. Bull (Hawera), and D. 11. Thomson (Phoenix), each of whom is a onelifer.

Bennett won the singles title on merit. The final was his only singles game of the day, but Claridge, the other finalist, had previously met and beaten T. R. MacGillivray (Roslyn), and T. Edwards (Temuka). He won comfortably against MacGillivray by 16 points to eight, and also scored a convincing win against Edwards, 20 —l2. Both players in this game were suffering from injuries received in tournament play. Obviously Edwards’s form was affected by a strained knee, which caused him to retire from the rinks championship in its early stages, and he did not produce the bowls which had made him a favourite for the title. Claridge ricked an ankle in his game with MacGillivray, but he played splendid bowls against Edwards and again in the second half of the final. However, Bennett played bowls of an extremely high standard, drawing with remarkable consistency and proving himself a worthy champion. The four pairs from which the team to meet Smith and Oakey in the final will be found are P. Delargey and P. Munn (Canterbury), A. G? Honeyman and A. J- Walker (Otago), S. J. Sneddon and H. Wilson. (Linwood), and R. B. Clarke and C. E. Tyrrell (Roslyn). The rinks games to-day provided some highly interesting bowls and some very close finishes. AV. A. Britten (Sydenham), who had two lives when the afternoon’s play was begun, was eliminated in successive games and AVilson is now the only two-lifer left in the championship. 1 Aitchison lost his first life to AVilson in the sixth round of post-sec-tional play, but he played such good bowls in all of his games that he is still a strong contender. Thomson, the veteran Invercargill and Oamaru skip, is in impressive form, and he, too, has a strong rink. Bull had two very hard games, winning the second against G. E. Piper (Maitni) in an exciting extra head. Wilson was extended by Aitchison, but his form lias entitled' him to the ranking of favourite for the title, which he won in Dunedin at the Dominion tournament four years ago. •Results : SINGLES. Quarter-final —G. C. Clardige (St. Kilda) 16 v. T. R, Macgillivray (llos-Semi-final. —Claridge 20 v. T. Edwards (Temuka) 12; AV. D. Bennett (Hastings), a bye. Final. —Bennett 17 v. Claridge 10. PAIRS. Semi-final.—J. R. Smith and H. B. Oakey (Elmwood) 26 v. H. Belcher and E. Longwortli (St. Kilda) 13. _ Fifth round.—Two-life division : Aitchison 23 v. Britten 21; AA 7 ilson 27 v. Thompson (one-lifer) 7. One-lire division": Bull 18 v. Marks 14; Piper 19 v. Dowland 13; D. Thomson 2o v. Foster 22. . . Sixth round. —Two-life division: Wilson 19 v. Aitchison 14. One-life division: Bull 21 v. Piper 20; Thomson 16 v. Britten 13. NORTHERN V. TERRACE END. Last evening, Terrace End bowlers visited Northern Club and, after being entertained at tea, played a series of games. The Northern Club won 3* games and Terrace End 2i. 'The scores were:—Mason, Kells, Locke, Gordon (skip) 21 v. Connor. Smith, Drew, Wood (skip) 24; 1 itcher. Todd, Dixon. Ellis (skip) 13 v. Bennett, Teale, Stiles, Robinson (skip) 23; Skinner, Christie, Hanly. Smith (skip) 15 v. Green, Osborne, AVort, G. Lynch (skip) 27; Melville, Bradlev. Andrews, Davidson (skip) 21 v. Hodder, Hoare, A. E. Lynch. Larcombe (skip) 21; Allen. Quirke, AA’ills, Child (skip) 29 v. Rainforth, King, Lee, Bennett (skip) 15; Bringen. Young. Bee, Mills (skip) 19 v. Travis, Penny, Bryce, McDonald (skip) 12. Aggregate: Terrace End, 118; Northern, 122.