Sue Hodges (Outram) achieved a significant milestone at the weekend when she won her 15th Bowls Dunedin title.
She added a second bar to her gold star when she beat Lyn Rance (Green Island) 21-16 in the open singles.
Hodges, who works for the Ministry of Corrections in Milton, started playing bowls 17 years ago and won her first centre title a decade ago when she beat Rance in the champion of champions singles.
It was the only other time the pair had met in a final.
''It was special for me to get my 15th title,'' Hodges said.
''Centre titles don't come easy so you have to take each one as they come. It was a really good feeling to win.''
Hodges celebrated the win with a glass of wine at the St Clair Bowling Club before going home to Milton to take her dog, Jack, for a walk.
It was a day of milestones in Dunedin bowls. The others came in the men's open four when the North East Valley team of Mitchell Will, Andy McLean, Jim Scott and Terry Scott won a tense final.
They beat the Forbury Park combination of Mike Bracegirdle, Duane White, Glen Murtagh and Peter Wilson 13-11.
It was a significant win for North East Valley and gave Terry Scott his 35th title and a sixth bar to his gold star.
It was the 22nd Bowls Dunedin title for Jim Scott, the fourth for Andy McLean and the first for Mitchell Will.
It has been a successful past few weeks for Hodges, who skipped the Taieri Plains team that finished runner-up in the national championship fours to Mandy Boyd's team of junior internationals.
Hodges took command of the game when she scored fours on the eighth and 10th ends to lead 14-7. After four more ends she led 19-10.
''I wasn't confident at this stage because Lyn is a very good draw player,'' she said.
''I knew I needed to keep my pedal foot on the floor and keep going.''
She needed to be cautious because Rance came back into the game by scoring six shots on the next three ends to trail by just three shots.
Two shots on the 18th end sealed the game for Hodges.
Hodges beat the promising Sarah Scott (North East Valley) 21-18 in the semifinal.
But Scott's father made sure a trophy would be on the family mantelpiece by winning the men's four.
''We've had to scrap a bit today to get through,'' Terry Scott said.
''This was one of those games.''
The key to the game was the front bowls by Mitchell Will and Andy McLean who were two of the form players at the national championships.
They kept putting bowls around the jack and this made it easier for former internationals Jim and Terry Scott to control the head.
The 15th and last end was crucial with North East Valley holding a narrow 12-11 lead after 14 ends.
