Bowls: Gold medallist eyes elusive title

Jo Edwards from Nelson's United club has earned a second chance to win an open national title, following knockout action at the national open championships in Christchurch yesterday.

The final will be first-up on Sunday in a festival of top bowls as men's and women's singles and pairs titles are decided.

Edwards already has Asia Pacific and Commonwealth gold medals to her name, but her only nationals final appearance to date was a defeat in the pairs the last time the event was in the Garden City, in 1999.

Her opponent is Hokonui's Shona Klemick, who has enjoyed a good record in recent nationals, but this will be her first final.

Klemick came through the top half of the draw, putting out Edwards' Commonwealth pairs champion partner, Sharon Sims, along the way.

But Edwards also had to overcome an international colleague, Jan Khan, in the semifinal.

For Khan, it was a hurdle too many. She had beaten New Zealand team-mates Val Smith in the round of 16 and Marlene Castle in the quarter-finals, but could not maintain the intensity as Edwards won their semifinal 21-10.

In the men's pairs, Dave Hanson and Barrie Andrews, of Timaru, will play Lynn Fenwick and Bruce Miller, of Tawa, in one semifinal.

But home-town and home-club support will be with Mike Small and Kevin Gore of the headquarters club, Burnside, in the second semifinal.

They put out last year's beaten finalists, Christchurch pairing Gary Lawson and Andrew Curtain, 19-12 in the quarter-finals and will now play the other half of Lawson's four, Adam Newman and Glen McDonald.

Newman and McDonald enjoyed a close quarter-final tussle with former racing driver Leo Leonard, who was playing with last year's singles champion, Ali Forsyth, before prevailing 19-18.

Earlier in the day, defending champions Wally Marsic and Petar Sain, of the Carlton club, had been beaten 11-22 at the last 32 stage by Doug Wilson, of Elmwood, playing with NZ under-18 representative Shannon McIlroy, from Gisborne.

But the makeshift pair could not repeat the dose and relinquished a nine-shot lead over the last three ends, and then a further single on the extra end to go down 20-21 to Small in the last 16.

Neven Grgicevich and Justin Goodwin, of Takapuna, had extended their winning run with a narrow 19-18 win in round one, but left a comeback too late in the next match, closing from 8-18 to lose by a single shot at 19-20 to Fenwick.

- NZPA