KEY POINTS:
Local knowledge proved to be a big advantage for seasoned Henderson bowlers Steve Cox and Tony Garelja when the New Zealand Open continued at their home club greens yesterday.
Playing in the pairs, Cox, who as a professional trainer is one of the game's fittest men, and Garelja, also prominent on the Auckland scene for many years, proved to be among the day's chief giant-killers.
Having knocked over two accomplished North Harbour centre representatives John Walker and Tony Marinkovich in the first round, Cox and Garelja secured an even more illustrious prize in the second.
In only 12 ends they ran away from two of New Zealand's triumphant world championship team, Gary Lawson and Andrew Todd, 14-3.
Reputations counted for little for another pair of veterans in former national representative Neville Hill and a four-time national champion Ross Haresnape. They had a comfortable 12-end win over current Black Jack Ali Forsyth and the 2007 national singles champion Tony Grantham.
Cox and Garelja then made the semifinals, winning a late quarter-final over Hill and Haresnape 18-8.
As on the first day, surprise results were commonplace in all of yesterday's disciplines, although that reflected the high quality of bowling, with several internationals, national and centre champions participating.
In the women's singles, double world champion Val Smith went in the second round, as did two former national players, Sharon Sims and Patsy Jorgensen, and an Australian international gold medallist from this year's world championships, Julie Keegan.
Former Black Jack Wendy Jensen went in the third round and the first round casualties included leading Aucklanders Jo Babich, a double national champion last season, and Reen Stratford, plus Marina Khan.
New Zealand's other current world champion Jo Edwards was in good form, making today's semifinals, as did Auckland's Tanya Wrigley with a win over Australian Lynsey Armitage.
First round winners in the men's triples included fancied line-ups skipped by Lawson, Richard Girvan, Matt Gallop, Dwayne Cameron and Wally Marsic. Early departures, though, have been the Australian trio of Mark Berghofer, Robbie Thomson and Mark Jacobsen and a line-up skipped by Ali Forsyth.
