Bowls: Chance to take on top players

Bruce Dunn prepares for the invitation singles at the North East Valley Bowling Club.  Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
Bruce Dunn prepares for the invitation singles at the North East Valley Bowling Club. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
Club stalwart Bruce Dunn is one of three North East Valley players to have gained competitive entry to the annual invitation singles this weekend.

Thirteen players entered the club tournament in a bid to qualify for the 32-strong field. Dunn was joined by Colin Wheeler and Roger Stevens.

The other bowlers in the field are all invited players who have been included because of their record.

''We don't get turned down by many players,'' Dunn said.

''It is the chance of top competition and the prize money that keeps drawing the best players back.''

The Speight's-sponsored event is the top-rated singles tournament in New Zealand each year and has a prize pool of $16,000. The winner's purse is $5000.

It always attracts the best players in the country and occasionally some top Australians. The event is watched by the New Zealand selectors and is one of the few elite bowls events on which the TAB opens a book.

International Ken Walker (Dunedin) won the inaugural event in 1990 and a classy field has been assembled for the 24th annual event.

It includes defending champion Ali Forsyth (Taren Point, New South Wales), who is ranked third on the TAB list and is paying $7 to win.

Former double world champion Gary Lawson (Victoria) is ranked top and is paying $3.50 for a win. Shannon McIlroy (Nelson), the winner in 2006, 2008 and 2012, is ranked second and is paying $6.

Other players to watch are Dan Delany (Auckland), Mike Kernaghan (Dunedin), Andrew Kelly (Canterbury), Jamie Hill (Auckland), Richard Girvan (Nelson Bay, New South Wales), Mike Nagy (Taren Point) and North East Valley players Andy McLean and Shaun Scott.

This is the eighth time Dunn (62) has qualified. His best performance was in 2011 when he qualified for the top eight in section play and was beaten in the quarterfinals by eventual winner Tony Grantham (Auckland).

''For an ordinary club bowler, like myself, it is special to play against the top guys. I used to get nervous in my first few times but not so much now,'' Dunn said.

There are four sections of eight in the four-day competition and Dunn is guaranteed seven games in section play.

''There are no easy games in this tournament. I'd like to reach post-section of the main event or the plate.''

It is fitting Dunn has found a spot in the field because North East Valley is his family club.

His great-uncle, George Dunn, was a founding member of the club in 1904. His grandfather, Edward, and his two other brothers were members of the club in the early years, and Dunn's father, Fergie, was a president of the club and a life member.

Dunn was 13 and a pupil at Otago Boys' High School when he had his first roll-up at the club.

He has been the official photographer for the invitation singles since the event was first held in 1990, and he is in charge of the North East Valley club's photographic archive of the event.

The top two from each section proceed to the quarterfinals and the next two to the plate.

Add a Comment