Sport
24 February, 2023
Golf Bowls White straight into pennant grand final
WARRACKNABEAL Golf Bowls White overcame another slow start to beat off a spirited Beulah combination on the carpet at Beulah on Saturday in the first semi final of the Division One bowls season. The weather was perfect for bowls with the carpet well...
WARRACKNABEAL Golf Bowls White overcame another slow start to beat off a spirited Beulah combination on the carpet at Beulah on Saturday in the first semi final of the Division One bowls season.
The weather was perfect for bowls with the carpet well groomed and running to the satisfaction of all concerned.
After the first five ends on each rink Golf were down five shots to 16 in arrears and all rinks down, with Beulah showing their skills on the home surface better than Golf.
However Golf steadied over the following six ends apiece to have two rinks up but still down on the shot board by seven overall, 26 to 33.
Roger Perris, Wayne Gove, Graeme Clarke and Gary Bellis were struggling to handle the quick conditions and found themselves playing catch up by the lunch break at seven shots to 15 down, while the other two Golf rinks were matching their opponents, with a two shot lead each of the two.
A wonderful spread of afternoon tea by the Beulah Club ladies was another question as to who would recover from the lovely spread, and the 20 minute break for a regroup.
Roger and his team were the instigators of a big comeback late in the game, being 22 shots to 10 down on end 19, winning the next five ends of six played, and an important five on the second last end to go down by a mere two shots, 21 to 23.
This was a lazarus effort, winning only nine ends of the 25, as the Beulah rink were a tough side to contend with, and overall giving the golfers a strong chance at a grand final berth.
Warren Perris, Russell Miller, Rocky Holland and Sean Smith steadied the ship after the break against Alan Edmonds and his teammates, as at end 16, both sides were equal on 13 shots apiece.
Golf found themselves down by two shots after the 18th end but concentration was the key with Golf winning six ends of the last seven ends to play, winning the rink 21 shots to 18, finishing the day first as usual giving the golfers a short lead with a couple of ends to go by the other two sides. 13 ends were won by Golf of the 25 encountered.
Beulah Skipper Ross Williams and his side flew out of the boxes like a greyhound on heat, winning the first four ends against Mick Marchment, Terry Sanders, Dawn Walton and Ian Bibby, with an eight to nil lead after four ends.
Playing some great over the draw shots as well as the perfect draw, his players were confident of a win for their club.
However, end five saw Golf pick up four shots and three ends later a six to be two shots in front, and three up at the lunch break. Another big score on the 14th end of five shots with a follow up of a four at the 16th end, Golf led the opposition 24 shots to 13 and looking good.
Bowls can always come back and bite you, as did Beulah, winning the next four ends of five, and at 25 to 22 for Golf, it was all about who had the desire to win. Golf certainly didn’t want the result of the past two encounters with the top side, and dug deep to win three ends of the last four with a final score of 28 to 24. Golf won 12 ends in a close contest.
Overall a win by Golf of five shots only is a testament to the closeness of the Division One competition and the improvement of the Beulah Club and the result this season of two teams on top of the ladder in their respective grades.
Congratulations to them and good luck in the prelim for both sides.
The final score Golf Bowls 70 shots 14 points to Beulah 65 shots 2 points.
This was a fantastic win for Golf, who now wait for the preliminary final next Saturday when Beulah and Warracknabeal play off for the other spot in the Grand Final. Warracknabeal and Beulah also meet in the Division Two Prelim.
Good bowling and good luck.