Bumper start to the World’s Biggest Bowls Festival!
The Australian Open begins with a number 95 sections held across the Gold Coast, with a few big name casualties on day 1. The 2017 Australian Open kicked off with a bang today, with 95 of the 227 Men’s Singles sections played out across blustery Gold Coast greens.
With the scheduled showers staying away for most of the day, the 380 players who kicked off the World’s Biggest Bowls Festival faced a blustery day on the otherwise pristine Gold Coast greens.
Among the 95 section winners who have proceeded directly through to the knockout rounds are a trio of local Helensvale guns, with Nathan Rice and Jayden Christie enjoying comfortable sectional wins while current World Champion Brett Wilkie had it tougher, losing his first match but eventually progressing on shot margin.
It was a similar story for some of our international superstar visitors, with Scots Alex Marshall and Paul Foster cruising through their sections, while the current World Champion in this discipline Shannon McIlroy (New Zealand) dropped only 12 shots across his three matches.
Australian Jackaroos Ray Pearse and Barrie Lester didn’t have it all their own way, being taken to 18 in their morning matches before prevailing in all three matches, while Aaron Wilson won his section comfortably.
Day 1 wasn’t without it’s big name casualties however, with South African international stalwart and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Gerry Baker dropping two matches and crashing out of this discipline. It looks to be a similar story for young gun Jono Davis, who dropped his morning encounter to the Australian Defence Force’s Samuel Pryor and looks very unlikely to claim a next best qualifier spot with a final shot margin of +4.
It’s a similar story for ACT’s Mac McLean, who at +7 looks unlikely to qualify as a next best qualifier, while others facing a nervous wait include Paradise Point’s Queensland representative Samuel White (+17), Malaysian Zuilhilmee Redzuan (+32) and Australian Para Sport squad member Josh Thornton (+26).
The action continues tomorrow, as sections 96 to 194 play off in the Men’s Singles, with the conclusion of the Men’s Singles and the start of the Women’s Singles on Monday.
Don’t forget, our new live stream product “Rinkside Live” will be back tomorrow through out Facebook page; we will be at Mudgeeraba to stream the intriguing section 185 encounter between Broadbeach’s Scottish import Ryan Burnett and Mohommad Syamil Syazwan Ramli. This is probably the group of death in the Men’s Singles, with Western Australia’s former state skip Matty Ellul hunting a direct place in the knockouts; we will be live from approximately 11:30am depending on schedule!
In case you missed it, check out today’s Rinkside Live match between current World Champion Aaron Wilson and bowls legend Rob Parrella – part 1 and part 2!
Full listing of section winners:
Winner Section 1: Kevin Dunn (Strathmerton, VIC)
Winner Section 2: Peter Flack (Wanneroo, WA)
Winner Section 3: Fairul Izwan Abd Muin (Kuala Lumpur, MAS)
Winner Section 4: David Ferguson (Engadine, NSW)
Winner Section 5: Ian Warner (Sebastopol, VIC)
Winner Section 6: Harley McDonald (Warilla, NSW)
Winner Section 7: Frank Garden (Essendon, VIC)
Winner Section 8: Samual Pryor (ADF – Henley, SA)
Winner Section 9: Doc (James) Buttfield (Henley, SA)
Winner Section 10: Darren Walker (Ettalong Memorial, NSW)
Winner Section 11: Peter Thompson (Paradise Point, QLD)
Winner Section 12: Lachlan Sims (Trevallan, TAS)
Winner Section 13: Brett Merkel (Enoggera, QLD)
Winner Section 14: Mark Malogorski (Katherine, NT)
Winner Section 15: Trevor Drake (Alexandra Otago, NZ)
Winner Section 16: Christopher Thomas (Cobram, VIC)
Winner Section 17: Cameron Wilson (Essendon, VIC)
Winner Section 18: Alex Marshall (Gifford East Lothian, SCO)
Winner Section 19: Gary Lawson (Broadbeach, QLD)
Winner Section 20: Warwick Neville (Roleystone, WA)
Winner Section 21: Geoffery Hammond (Kew, NSW)
Winner Section 22: John McCarron (Glenroy, VIC)
Winner Section 23: Michael Sims (Trevallyn, TAS)
Winner Section 24: Anthony Tapper (ADF – Raymond Terrace, NSW)
Winner Section 25: Damon Jeffery (Mount Lewis, NSW)
Winner Section 26: Jayden Christie (Helensvale, QLD)
Winner Section 27: Shane Green (Helensvale, QLD)
Winner Section 28: Max Jaffray (Tweed Heads, QLD)
Winner Section 29: Alan Brough (Paradise point, Qld)
Winner Section 30: Ryan Digby (Enoggera, QLD)
Winner Section 31: Shane Trewarne (Sunbury, VIC)
Winner Section 32: Matthew Liverton (Moama, NSW)
Winner Section 33: Aaron Wilson (Clayton, VIC)
Winner Section 34: Ian Anderson (Pakenham, VIC)
Winner Section 35: Pat Houlahan (Alexandra, NZ)
Winner Section 36: Adam Taylor (Paradise Point, QLD)
Winner Section 37: Warren Mills (Paradise Point, QLD)
Winner Section 38: Sean Baker (Hamilton, QLD)
Winner Section 39: Brent Norman (St Johns Park, NSW)
Winner Section 40: Maake Feinga (Belmont, QLD)
Winner Section 41: Peter Hall (Moama, NSW)
Winner Section 42: Jade Groenewege (Broadbeach, QLD)
Winner Section 43: Neil Burkett (Merrylands, NSW)
Winner Section 44: Nic Gosley (Musgrave Hill, QLD)
Winner Section 45: Brett Wilkie (Helensvale, QLD)
Winner Section 46: Alexander Elwell (Ferny Grove, QLD)
Winner Section 47: Jeffery Bradley (Weston Creek, ACT)
Winner Section 48: Richard Gale (Flemington Kiensington, VIC)
Winner Section 49: Dene Miller (Heathmont, VIC)
Winner Section 50: Dale Clarkson (Moonee Ponds, VIC)
Winner Section 51: Cody Fehlberg (Burleigh Heads, QLD)
Winner Section 52: Russell Hall (Heathmont, VIC)
Winner Section 53: Wayne Parks (Inverloch, VIC)
Winner Section 54: Jay Cross (Swifts, QLD)
Winner Section 55: Dale Shillington (Musgrave Hill, QLD)
Winner Section 56: John Archer (Bathurst City, NSW)
Winner Section 57: Nathan Rice (Helensvale, QLD)
Winner Section 58: Gary Templeton (Musgrave Hill, QLD)
Winner Section 59: Tim Perry (Engadine, NSW)
Winner Section 60: Carl Healey (Cabramatta, NSW)
Winner Section 61: Bradley Lawson (Enoggera, QLD)
Winner Section 62: Michael Nagy (Taren Point, NSW)
Winner Section 63: Phil Sharp (Lennox Head, NSW)
Winner Section 64: Glenn Scott (Inverloch, VIC)
Winner Section 65: Paul Girdler (Tweed Heads, QLD)
Winner Section 66: Chris Herden (St Johns Park, NSW)
Winner Section 67: James Cook (Terrigal, NSW)
Winner Section 68: Richard Girvan (Nelson Bay, NSW)
Winner Section 69: Mark Sharman (Wallaroo, SA)
Winner Section 70: Mark McMahon (Melbourne, VIC)
Winner Section 71: Wayne Long (Sunbury, VIC)
Winner Section 72: Lindsay Strange (Warnbro, WA)
Winner Section 73: Kris Lehfeldt (Ballina, NSW)
Winner Section 74: Pat Bird (Calgary, CAN)
Winner Section 75: Paul Foster (Troon Portland Ayrshire, SCO)
Winner Section 76: Craig Elliott (City of Geelong, VIC)
Winner Section 77: Phillip Skoglund (Eastbourne Eagles, NZ)
Winner Section 78: Alex Murtagh (Pine Rivers, QLD)
Winner Section 79: Dave Billington (Coolum Beach, QLD)
Winner Section 80: John Ziller (Belrose, NSW)
Winner Section 81: Stephen Ditfort (Elmwood, NZ)
Winner Section 82: Paul Green (Buderim, QLD)
Winner Section 83: Aaron Van Haaften (MCC Kew, VIC)
Winner Section 84: Andrew Kelly (St Albans/Canterbury, NZ)
Winner Section 85: Sam Laguzza (Kahibah, NSW)
Winner Section 86: Lyn Quigg (Mulgrave, VIC)
Winner Section 87: Scott McLachlan (Greenslopes, NSW)
Winner Section 88: Rhys Hakkens (Musgrave Hill, QLD)
Winner Section 89: Shannon McIlroy (Stoke, NZ)
Winner Section 90: Barrie Lester (Mulgrave Country, VIC)
Winner Section 91: Mitch Sidebottom (South Bendigo, VIC)
Winner Section 92: Ray Pearse (Cabramatta, NSW)
Winner Section 93: Ben Marshall (Musgrave Hill, QLD)
Winner Section 94: Dale Marsland (Mosman Park, WA)
Winner Section 95: Bradley Down (Victoria, NZ)
