Big payday for Zittersteijn at New Zealand PBA events

There were plenty of headline acts during the delayed 2021 New Zealand PBA Finals Weekend at the Hopes Dunedin Bowls Stadium.

As the World Bowls Tour season has already been played, the qualifiers were not playing for trips to the UK, but instead for $1,500 prize money for the respective winners and plenty of other trophies as well.

Wellington’s Ray Martin retained his New Zealand year end number one trophy for the third year, winning the World Indoor Singles playoffs beating Hawkes Bay’s Dean Drummond 6-5, 9-6 in the final.

However, Drummond did win the Shanghai Singles which is a fun tournament consisting of three players in each match but with a serious prize of a holiday on the Gold Coast. Drummond beat the top NZ Woman Clare Hendra and new Dunedin coordinator Niel Louw 31-29-15 in a tight final.

North Harbour’s Colin Rogan won the Scottish Singles playoffs for a third time having previously won them in 2017 and 2019 beating Manawatu’s Ross Ellery 9-5, 9-2. Unfortunately that was one of two finals Ellery went down, also falling to Taranaki’s Aidan Zittersteijn in a very close match in the International Singles 8-7, 8-8.

The 22-year old Zittersteijn had a big payday not only taking the $1500 for that win, but also snaring another $1500 as who would have been New Zealand’s nominee for the World Under 25 Singles. He needed that last gasp win over Ellery to overtake Tom Taiaroa in the rankings.

It finished a memorable weekend for the New Plymouth branch with the pair of Gavin Scrivener and Craig De Faria taking the World Indoor Pairs final over Bay of Plenty’s Jack Giddy and David Jones 9-6, 8-6, and New Plymouth being awarded the inaugural Inter-Branch trophy donated and presented by Ken Walker.

The 2022 New Zealand PBA team hopefully to play the Australian PBA later in the year will include the best kiwi from the last held event Andrew Kelly, Ray Martin, Southland’s Sheldon Bagrie-Howley, Whanganui’s Gavin Scrivener, and Southland’s Craig Merrilees survived by one ranking point over Drummond.

Information on the 2022 season to begin next weekend (28 May) in Auckland and Wellington is available on the New Zealand branch page of the Professional Bowls Association website.

2021 NZ PBA Finals Weekend Results and Prizes

Scottish Singles
Quarter-finals: Ross Ellery (Manawatu) bt Jeff Nowell (Canterbury) 8-7, 5-11, 2-1; Craig Merrilees (Southland) bt Gavin Scrivener (Whanganui) 5-10, 14-1, 2-0.
Semi-finals: Ellery bt Merrilees 8-7, 8-8; Colin Rogan (North Harbour) bt Dean Drummond (Hawkes Bay) 2-10, 11-5, 2-1.
Final: Colin Rogan (North Harbour) bt Ross Ellery (Manawatu) 9-5, 9-2.
Colin Rogan wins $1500

International Singles
Quarter-finals: Sheldon Bagrie-Howley (Southland) bt Mike Isaacson (Hawkes Bay) 9-6, 9-6; Aidan Zittersteijn (Taranaki) bt Colin Rogan (North Harbour) 7-4, 4-9, 2-1.
Semi-finals: Zittersteijn bt Bagrie-Howley 8-8, 9-5; Ross Ellery (Manawatu) bt Craig Tinker (Southland) 8-8,, 9-4.
Final: Aidan Zittersteijn (Taranaki) bt Ross Ellery (Manawatu) 8-7, 8-8.
Aidan Zittersteijn wins $1500. Zittersteijn also wins $1500 as he would have been the World Under 25 Singles nominee.

World Singles
Quarter-finals: Ray Martin (Wellington) bt Elliot Mason (Dunedin) 8-3, 7-9, 2-1; Craig Tinker (Southland) bt Aidan Zittersteijn (Taranaki) 9-0, 6-7, 2-1.
Semi-finals: Martin bt Tinker 7-4, 8-5; Dean Drummond (Hawkes Bay) bt David Eades (North Harbour) 8-4, 8-2.
Final: Ray Martin (Wellington) bt Dean Drummond (Hawkes Bay) 6-5, 9-6.
Ray Martin wins $1500

World Pairs
Quarter-final: Lyall Spencer & Craig Tinker (Southland) bt Ray Martin & Caleb Hope (Wellington) 7-3, 8-7.
Semi-finals: David Jones & Jack Giddy (Bay of Plenty) bt Spencer & Tinker 0-13, 7-5, 2-1;Craig De Faria (Taranaki) & Gavin Scrivener (Whanganui) bt Oliver Mason (Dunedin) & Nick Buttar (Central Otago) 8-7, 9-2.
Final: Craig De Faria (Taranaki) & Gavin Scrivener (Whanganui) bt David Jones & Jack Giddy (Bay of Plenty) 9-6,8-6.
Craig De Faria and Gavin Scrivener win $1500 each

Shanghai Singles
Friday night qualifier winner: Lyall Spencer (Southland)
Semi-finals: Dean Drummond (Hawkes Bay) bt Ian Andrews (Taranaki) and Ray Martin (Wellington) 31-29-25; Niel Louw (Dunedin) bt Spencer and David McNeill (South Canterbury) 31-18-9; Clare Hendra (Wellington) bt Bevan Clark (Southland) and Colin Rogan (North Harbour) 31-30-17.
Final: Dean Drummond (Hawkes Bay) bt Clare Hendra (Wellington) and Niel Louw (Dunedin) 31-29-15.
Dean Drummond wins a holiday on the Gold Coast
Clare Hendra wins $1500 as who would have been the World Ladies Invitational Singles nominee

Other awards
Best Rookie: Mike Bradshaw
Inter-Branch Trophy: New Plymouth
NZ PBA team to hopefully play the Australian PBA: Andrew Kelly, Ray Martin, Sheldon Bagrie-Howley, Gavin Scrivener and Craig Merrilees.

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