Ross Stewart (Southland) climbed back on the winner's podium when he won his fourth PBA qualifying event on Sunday.
Stewart (60), the owner of Paper Plus in Winton, had a purple patch in 2005 and 2006 when he won three direct-entry events in Dunedin and competed in three international finals in the United Kingdom.
He just needs two more wins at the national finals weekend at the Frankton Railway Bowling Club in Hamilton in September to clinch his fourth trip to the Welsh International open singles.
The finalists from the other events at the weekend are Wayne Stewart (Waikato) and Murray Glassey (Hawkes Bay).
It is five years since Stewart won his previous qualifier tournament at the Westpac Bowls Stadium.
He beat Peter Wilson (Kaikorai), who is second in the New Zealand PBA rankings, 10-6, 9-5 in the semifinals and Bowls New Zealand Development squad member Mark Watt (North East Valley) 10-4, 8-7 in the final.
In the first set of the final, Stewart led Watt 5-4 after six of the nine ends.
The seventh end turned the game in Stewart's favour when he drew four shots. Watt missed the target with a forehand runner and the game was over.
Watt led 4-0 after three ends in the second set but Stewart came back into contention on the fourth end when he played a well-weighted shot for three.
He added twos on the next two ends to lead 7-4.
Watt came back with a one and two on the next two ends and it was 7-7 with one end left.
Watt drew the shot with his last bowl, but it fell backwards and out of the count and the game was over. Watt beat promising fourth-year bowler Brendon Legg (Green Island) 13-0, 8-6 in the other semifinal. It is Legg's first year in the PBA.
David Hodges (Taieri), another first-year PBA member, has had eight wins in the two PBA events this year and leads the national rookie of the year contest to get a consolation entry to the national finals in Hamilton.
Hodges won three games before being beaten in the tie-breaker by Stewart 6-8, 9-6, 2-0.
Ross Munro (Forbury Park), who reached two national finals in the Queen's Birthday qualifiers at Dunedin, was beaten in the first round by Terry Perham (Mornington) 10-3, 3-8, 2-1.
