Fifteen WA players remain the race for the AO Mens Singles title
Action continued today at Bowls Australia’s showcase event, the Australian Open. The Mens Singles sectional play has now been completed with 303 section winners left to battle out the knockout rounds.
Five more WA men booked places in the knockout rounds today with Blake Nairn (Cambridge) and Jack East (Osborne Park), two members of the most recent WA State Team, making their way through undefeated. Nairn survived a scare in his first round match before charging home for the win.
Pinjarra’s Brad Ball progressed with a close head to head final round battle with WA’s own Chris McKenna in the final match of the day – Ball home 21-18. Perth Tattersall’s Ron Nelson was another to emerge unscathed with three solid victories.
Quinns Rocks’ own Shane Smith needed something special in the final round, and grabbing a 21-11 win in the last was enough to see him through, with New Zealander Bill Morrison, the section leader after two, going down narrowly in that last round.
Adding those 5 winners, means 15 WA men remain in contention for the Australian Open Singles title.
Unfortunately, the news wasn’t so good for WA women’s pairs combatants today with all combinations that played eliminated in the first set of sectional rounds.
Women’s Pairs tomorrow…
Commonwealth Games Pairs Gold Medalists, WA’s own Kristina Krstic and NSW’s Ellen Ryan commence their Australian Open pairs campaign at Coolangatta, with a tough sectional matchup against NSW duo Katrina Wright and Kate Walker. Krstic and Ryan have the pressure of champion status with which to deal and will be using this event to prepare for World Championships action in September.
Also at Coolangatta, WA pair Leanne Marchi and Lisa Smith face a very tough section including Jamie-Lee Worsnop and Dawn Hayman, as well as Stephanie Holz and Jessie Cottell.
Bowls WA Metro Dream Teamer Laura Butler joins Victorian Olivia Cartwright in a combination that could go far into the event, while Yanchep duo Jodie Nikolic and Tamara Arnold combine at Robina.
Other WA pairs include Jenny Jones and Sian Smith, Kerry Reagan and Sally Wilke, and Catherine Chappelle with Cathie Smith.
Men’s Pairs tomorrow…
A huge field of WA players starts the quest for the Men’s Australian Open Pairs title. Cody Packer has been there before, and alongside NSW teammate Matt Johnstone, the pair will be looking to emulate their amazing achievement when they won the pairs crown in 2021.
State Pairs runners-up Callum Alberti and Marcus Sear combine at Helensvale in a section that features former WA player Warwick Neville, and WA’s Michael Spadaccini and Steve Mulhall face a tough sectional encounter with Australian Jackaroos Barrie Lester and Corey Wedlock – that’s the beauty of the event though – to test yourself against the very best.
All up, another 35 pairs featuring WA players in action tomorrow.
Men’s Singles Knockout Draw (to be played Saturday)
Australian Open Men’s Singles Knockout Draw
Note that this year there is an alignment round in the knockout rounds, rather than the second chance qualifiers (this applies to Men’s Singles only and is due to the sheer number of entries). You may therefore need to check Round 1 and Round 2 initially, to find your favourite player.
Want to Watch?
Check out all the action on Bowls Australia’s Rinkside Live coverage on the Bowls Australia Facebook page and the Youtube channel.
IMPORTANT: Please note that there are scam pages that will try and draw your attention away from the official coverage. Bowls Australia’s coverage is free of charge, so please do not follow any links or provide any personal or payment details for any coverage.
All the latest results and news can be viewed here on the official Australian Open website.
You can also look at all the results throughout the event right here on BowlsLink results portal.
