Bowls: Crucial win for Glassey as England beckons

Murray Glassey.

Hawke's Bay's Murray Glassey has some unfinished business on the World Bowls Tour in the United Kingdom.

He wants to improve upon his second round International Singles exit in England back in March. Glassey, 40, completed the first stage of his quest to return to the UK when he beat his Bowls Heretaunga clubmate Dean Drummond 8-5, 8-9, 2-1 (tie breaker) in Saturday's final of their club's 34-player New Zealand Professional Bowls Association Scottish Singles qualifier to book a berth in the Dunedin-hosted national tournament in September.

The winner of the Dunedin event wins a trip to the United Kingdom.

"I was pretty happy. I always expect Dean to push me hard and he did that," Glassey said afterwards.

Drummond, 21, held the shot in the tie breaker but Glassey drew his final bowl dead to claim the victory.

"It was good to push Murray that close. I had something on every end in the tie breaker but Murray came back with something better under pressure ... he's had 15 years more experience than me in the sport and once again that showed. I've only beaten him once in half a dozen attempts," Drummond recalled. In their semifinals Glassey beat Bowls Napier's Paul Sorensen 11-3, 7-5 and Drummond beat his clubmate Tony Terry 13-10, 7-5.

A World Indoor Pairs qualifier involving 17 teams will be played at the club today. The winning team will contest the Dunedin-hosted national in September and the winning team in this event will play in the world final in England in January.