Brett Wilkie gave a command performance to win the 25th North East Valley Invitation Singles in Dunedin yesterday.
Wilkie (41) took control from the start to collect the $5000 winner's purse in the Speight's-sponsored event when he beat fellow Australian Aaron Wilson 25-14It was Wilkie's first win in a major New Zealand tournament and he became only the third Australian to win the event.
Fellow Queenslander Trevor Morris won in 1992 and Tom Ellem in 1998.
Wilkie is an experienced bowler and has played 158 tests for Australia.
He won the world champion of champions singles in 2009, and a gold medal in the fours at World Bowls in 2012.
He showed his experience from the start when he used a ferocious drive to take out Wilson's shot bowl and collect three shots on the second end.
''I wasn't confident of drawing it so I decided to be aggressive and I came out with a good result,'' Wilkie said.
''It helped me get a break at the start.''
Wilkie used the drive only twice more in the match. He killed the seventh end when he was two down on the head and drove out Wilson's three shot bowls on the eighth end.
This was a significant point in the game because he was left with two of his own bowls closest to the jack.
It was a five-point turnaround with one bowl that gave Wilkie a decisive 9-3 lead instead of a slender 7-6 advantage.
Wilkie rammed home his advantage on the next end by drawing shots with his third and fourth bowls to give himself an eight-shot lead.
He used the drive as an attack weapon but kept it locked away for the rest of the game.
''I stuck to the draw then and tried to put Aaron under pressure.''
Wilson (23), a new member of the Jackaroos squad, was playing catch-up bowls and was forced to use the drive throughout the game.
He drove 15 times and hit his target 10 times. But it meant that he lost his accuracy on the draw.
''I don't usually drive as much,'' Wilson said.
''But when you struggle with the draw game you have to find another path. ''Wilson often drove with his third bowl and once attacked with his second bowl.
''I just tried to disturb his rhythm but he was too experienced to be put off his game.''
Wilkie felt confident the prize was in his grasp when he led 17-7 after 15 ends.
A key to Wilkie's win was his ability to restrict Wilson to single shots on the ends he won. Wilson won 11 ends in the game and only scored more than one point on three of them.
Wilkie scored on 12 ends and collected more than one point on 10 of them. This included three threes and seven twos.
''It is part of my game,'' Wilkie said.
''If I'm going to lose anything I like to keep it to ones. I pride myself on this and try to lose only ones instead of numbers.''
Wilkie made it count when he had the chance to draw the bonus shot with his fourth bowl. He did this six times during the game.
Wilson was not able to counter Wilkie's tactics.
''He was too consistent on the draw. He drew the shot early on the end and put me under pressure,'' he said.
Wilkie made seven touchers and Wilson six during the game.
Wilson caused a major upset in the semifinals when he beat top Australian Mark Casey 25-14. Wilkie beat Jamie Hill (Auckland) 25-20.
Shannon McIlroy (Nelson) beat Mike Kernaghan (North East Valley) 21-16 when he scored a four on the last end in the final of the plate event.
Speight's Invitation singles
Results
Main event
Semifinals: Aaron Wilson (Australia) 25, Mark Casey (Australia) 14; Brett Wilkie (Australia) 25, Jamie Hill (Auckland) 20.
Final: Wilkie 25, Wilson 14.
Plate
Semifinals: Shannon McIlroy (Nelson) 21, Shayne Sincock (Canterbury) 9; Mike Kernaghan (North East Valley) 21, Sean O'Neill (Timaru) 16.
Final: McIlroy 21, Kernaghan 16.
