This Thursday, 13th August, sees the first Finals of the season being held at the club.

They will start at 6.30pm, and we hope a good turn out of club members will give their support.

Green Championship Final

W Pirie   21   V    P D Machir  7

Both players came into this final with slightly different agendas. Willie Pirie was in his third Green Championship final in a row, and wanted to win back the title he narrowly lost last year. Meanwhile, Dennis Machir was looking for a reversal of the final, two years previously, that saw Willie win his first title.

Although the final outcome suggests a one sided affair, it was anything but, with Willie having to play at his best to counter the good bowls played by Dennis. Every end was skillfully fought for by both players and Brian Mackie was quickly running out of chalk with the amount of touchers. One end in particular producing no fewer than six.

It started evenly with Dennis taking a 5 - 4 lead after five ends. By the ninth end it was 7 - 5, but after this Willie played some of his best shots to take a commanding lead 17 - 5 by the fouteenth end, with a run of 3,3,2,1,1. Although Dennis stopped the sequence at the fifteenth end it was Willie who ran out a worthy Champion, winning the final two ends 2, 2 to seal the victory 21 - 7.

Well done to both players for what was an excellent final for the spectators, and they both can certainly be proud of their own performances.

Handicap

A J Moir   21   V   J Thomson  14

The game started with Arthur Moir two shots down to James Thomson on the handicap system.

Arthur was slow to start, and before he knew it he was 7 - 1 down after five ends. However, in the sixth end, he found better weight and reversed the run of scoring by winning the next four ends to take a 9 - 7 lead. The next part of the match  saw both players winning alternate ends, bringing the score to 13 - 14 after seventeen ends.

It was at this stage that Arthur  stepped up a gear, and played some of his best shots in the match, winning the next four ends 2,2,3,1 to clinch the title.

It lets you see that experience as well as skill is an necessary factor in winning titles. I am sure that young James will be in many more finals in the seasons ahead.

Well done to both players for giving us another excellent final.

Andy Melrose

J Paton   21   V   S Duncan  15

This was another great final to match the other two, and the spectators were kept guessing the outcome right to the very end.

Both players won four ends each to level the match 6 -6 after eight ends. The ninth and tenth ends appeared to change the course of the game with John Paton scoring heavily with a 4,2 to take a 12 -6 lead. Steven Duncan recovered slightly with two singles at the next two ends, but  John answered this with two singles to lead 14 - 8 after fourteen ends.

It was at this point Steven made a spirited comeback, winning the next four ends to bring the tie back to 14 - 12. Just as John seemed to be faltering he dug deep and managed to win ends nineteen and twentty which took the game away from Steven once more. With John leading 17 - 12. Steven bounced back yet again with a three at the next end to bring him to within two shots.  John Paton was wondering what he had to do to see off his young opponent, who looked like he might just steal this title which John wasdefending from last year. It was not to be however, as John went on a run of 1,1,2 to win the title again with a final score of 17 - 15.

Another great final which finished off a good night.

Green Championship Pairs Final

Monday 17th August saw the Green Championship Pairs Final being contested between Ronnie Murray/Harry Dunn and Bill Bremner/Eddie Main.
Bill and Eddie started very positively indeed and raced into a 4 - 0 lead after three ends. The fourth end was a disaster for them though, as superb bowling by Ronnie and Harry saw them take a six to gain the lead in one end. This was a blow which took a few ends to recover from and by the tenth end it was all square at 9 - 9.
However, just as Eddie and Bill thought they were back in the match, Ronnie and Harry delivered them a second and fatal blow. In the eleventh and twelfth ends, the more experienced pairing scored heavily with a three and a four, to take a 16 - 9 lead,  from which they never recovered.
The last three ends saw a valiant effort from Eddie and Bill, but they only managed to score a further three shots, making the final score 16 - 12 to Ronnie and Harry.
Well done to all the bowlers, especially Ronnie and Harry who have won yet another title.
 Another good final to finish off a great week of bowling at the green.