It may be the turn of the young guns when the Professional Bowls Association qualifying singles tournament is held in Dunedin this weekend.
Looking for a spot in the national final - with the winner travelling to the International Open Singles in England in November - are Dunedin students Nick Buttar and Mark Watt, and Andrew Kelly, of Christchurch.
Qualifying events are being held at Dunedin's Westpac Bowls Stadium, the Pukekohe Cosmopolitan Club, Hamilton's Frankton Railway Bowling Club and the Heretaunga Club in Hastings.
The four venue winners will face each other in a finals weekend in Hastings on September 5-6 to find the overall champion.
Watt and Kelly are members of the 10-man New Zealand squad preparing for next year's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi and Buttar is on the verge of breaking through to the top echelon.
Buttar (22) made his mark at national level when he led with precision for Bruce McNish's composite four that won the national title in 2008.
Watt (20) made a breakthrough on the international scene by winning the Hong Kong Classic singles at the end of 2007.
Originally from Palmerston, he is a student at the Sports Institute of Otago where he is studying for a diploma in sports performance on a Prime Minister's scholarship.
Watt made his debut for the New Zealand development team against Scotland in 2006 and was also runner-up in the New Zealand under-19 singles that year.
Kelly (21), a mechanical engineer, was in the New Zealand development team for the first time in New South Wales in 2006 and remained in the team for the next two years.
He came into national prominence when he skipped the teenage "Kelly Gang" four that reached the final of the national fours in 2006.
Dunedin tournament co-ordinator Ken Walker has a tough first-round encounter in his bid to defend his International Open Singles berth against Central Otago's Bill Clements who won their only previous PBA singles match in 2005.
Other contenders include Kittyhawk New Zealand under-20 champion Sam Morton (Pleasant Point) who plays Dennis Leeden in his first game, New Zealand representative Shayne Sincock (Christchurch), Bevan Clark (Invercargill) and Geoff Wilson (Dunedin).
Females in the field include Carolyn Crawford, Malia Ellison, Trish Marr and Sue Hodges.
Ellison beat double world champion Gary Lawson (Canterbury) in the Queen's Birthday qualifying event and Crawford reached the quarterfinals.
Play starts at the Westpac Bowls Stadium at 12.30pm today and the final is expected to start around 3pm tomorrow.
