World Bowls Champion of Champions | Group stages complete, a dozen remain

On Nov 23, 2022 852

After five gruelling days of qualifying for a shot at the ultimate prize, just six men and six women remain in the hunt for bowls immortality in New Zealand at Wellington’s Naenae Bowling Club.

This is the World Bowls Singles Champion of Champions, which pits national club champions from all points of the compass in combat with the possibility of a rags to riches fairytale – where a club bowler wins a world title – very much in play.

Winners from no fewer than twenty-nine countries came to Naenae to stake their claim for the six men’s and six women’s play-off spots. To be sure, qualifying for these championship finals is a tough gig – someone once suggested it could be the most difficult examination paper in sport – that getting through five days of intense competition against the best players from other bowls nations requires heaps of skill and mental toughness, with a smidgen of luck thrown in – not to mention the wild winds of Wellington and adapting from outdoor to indoor conditions whenever Mother Nature intervened.

And it’s a pressure cooker with every shot counting. In all sections it was ‘sets won’ or ‘shots-up’ that decided the top finisher who earned direct entry into the semi finals and at least a bronze medal.

Australia’s Carla Krizanic and Anne Nunes from the USA secured the women’s semi final berths, while NZ’s Tayla Bruce, Mel Thomas from Wales, Malaysia’s Ain Tarmizi and the delightful Marea Modutlwa from Botswana will fight out in tomorrow morning’s elimination finals.

Defending champion Lee Schraner from Australia went through the men’s qualifying series undefeated to rightfully claim his semi final berth, while England international Sam Tolchard stymied New Zealand champ Kelvin Scott’s march to the semi finals when the two clashed on the windswept Naenae greens this afternoon in the final round.

Scott, Malaysia’s Izzat Shameer Dzulpeple, Kevin James from Wales and Irish veteran Gary McCloy, a fours gold medallist at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia will contest the elimination finals.

DAY FOUR RESULTS / FINAL TABLES

Men – Section One:

Rd. 13: Iva Lealaiauloto (SAM) bt Billy Nicholls (CYP) 7-9 8-5 7-0, Matt Mercer (ZAM) bt Steve Williams (GUE) 13-2 15-2, Gary McCloy (IRE) bt Edwin Nyoka (BOT) 9-4 6-7 3-1, Niksa Benguric (RSA) bt Anthony Loh (SIN) 8-7 12-1.

Rd.14: Kelvin Scott (NZL) bt Nyoka 12-2 6-7 4-2, Sam Tolchard (ENG) bt Gordon White (SCO) 9-6 11-5, Nicholls bt Cecil Alexander (FLK) 8-2 4-9 6-0, Loh bt Trevor Gow (NFI) 10-7 11-8, Williams bt Kushal Pillay (FIJ) 9-8 2-11 2-1.

Rd.15: Tolchard bt Scott 11-5 7-5, Lealaiauloto bt McCloy 10-8 7-8 5-3, White bt Benguric 6-5 4-10 3-2, Gow bt Mercer 9-3 15-2.

Final standings: Tolchard 27 points +15 sets, Scott 27 +10, McCloy 21 +7, Gow 21 +4, Lealaiauloto 21 Sq, White 18 +8, Benguric 18 +7, Pillay 18 +2, Loh 15 Sq, Alexander 9 +2, Mercer 9 -6 (-66 shots), Nicholls 9 -6 (- 87 shots), Williams 9 -12, Nyoka 3 -11.

Men – Section Two:

Rd.13: Ross Davis (JER) bt Fred Tafatu (NIU) 20-2 12-4, Royden Aperau (CKI) bt Michael Leong (CAN) 3-13 8-4 5-2, Izzat Dzulkeple (MAS) bt Thomas Waelti (SUI) 7-4 15-2, Charlie Herbert (USA) bt Amnon Amar (ISR) 13-3 12-4, Lee Schraner (AUS) bt Axel Krahenbuhl (NAM) 10-2 11-2.

Rd.14: Schraner bt Kevin James (WAL) 9-6 15-1, Zoltan Pavelka (HUN) bt Olle Bäckgren (SWE) 7-10 10-7 2-1, Dzulkeple bt Warren Cheung (HKC) 13-4 9-6, Davis bt Aperau 9-7 9-7.

Rd.15: Leong bt Herbert 4-8 9-4 4-2, Cheung bt Tafatu 12-7 6-9 4-1, Krahenbuhl bt Pavelka 11-5 13-3, James bt Waelti 7-7 13-2.

Final standings: Schraner 30 points +16 sets, James 27 +8, Dzulkeple 21 +11, Davis 21 +10, Aperau 21 +4, Leong 18 points +2, Herbert 15 +4, Cheung 15 +1, Krahenbuhl 12 -6 (-13 shots), Pavelka 12 -6 (-92 shots), Tafatu 9 -2, Bäckgren 9 -6 (-48 shots), Waelti 9 -6 (-75 shots), Amar 6 -10.

Women:

Rd.13: Anne Nunes (USA) bt Tayla Bruce (NZL) 10-6 8-5, Stef Branfield (ENG) bt Elly Dolieslager (NED) 13-4, Mel Thomas (WAL) bt Daphne Arthur-Almond (FLK) 9-7 13-4, Ain Tarmizi (MAS) bt Petal Jones (NFI) 12-8 9-9.

Rd.14: Diana Viljoen (NAM) bt Esmé Haley (RSA) 2-15 10-4 6-0, Marea Modutlwa (BOT) bt Nooroa Mataio (CKI) 15-3 6-8 3-1, Bruce bt Jones 9-8 8-8, Nunes bt Arthur-Almond 1-13 14-5 4-1

Rd.15: Thomas bt Carla Krizanic (AUS) 6-6 9-6, Haley bt Jennifer McClure (IRE) 11-4 6-8 3-2, Tarmizi bt Viljoen 8-7 11-8, Mataio bt Dolieslager 8-7 7-5.

Final standings: Krizanic 24 points +11 sets, Nunes 24 +10, Bruce 24 +8 (+60 shots), Tarmizi 24 +8 (+37 shots), Thomas 24 +8 (+28 shots), Modutlwa 21 +5, Haley 18 +3, Branfield 15 Sq, Viljoen 15 -4, Jones 12 +2, McClure 12 Sq, Mataio 9 -1, Arthur-Almond 9 -4, Dolieslager 9 -6.

[Words via David Allen (World Bowls PR), images via Bowls New Zealand]

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