The wind changed, and so did the fortunes of the Otago pair at the Stu Buttar Burnside Pairs on Sunday.
David Archer (Taieri) and Bob McAuley (Kaitangata) won the prestige invitation pairs in Christchurch and pocketed the $3600 winning purse.
They beat the talented Canterbury pair of Eric Allison and Shane Sincock (Belfast) 19-15 in the final.
The Canterbury pair led by six shots after nine of the 15 ends when the strong westerly wind created havoc on the green.
The Otago pair adjusted better and came into the game with a five on the 11th end.
''We won the game by scoring four shots on the 14th end,'' McAuley said.
It was the most significant win in the 30-year bowls career of McAuley, a Balclutha financial adviser, who has won 13 South Otago titles.
Archer, a steady draw player, has won seven Bowls Dunedin titles. His most important win was in the New Zealand championship pairs with Mike Kernaghan (Kaikorai) in 2007.
Kernaghan was in the winning team at the Burnside pairs with former international Maurice Symes last year.
