In arguably the match of the season, White overcame Phil Austin (Halswell) with a winner-take-all bowl with his final delivery of the second set to secure a place in the final 8-8, 7-5. Karl Mason (Taieri) had little trouble overcoming Bill Hinton (Andersons Bay) 11-1, 8-5 in the other semifinal.
Maintaining a steady resolve, White then beat Mason 12-3, 9-6 in the final.
"With Phil I knew I just had to keep fighting and fighting," White said of being able to stay in the semifinal game.
"And Karl, I managed to get a bit of an edge on, otherwise he’d have made me pay. It’s pretty special," White added of clipping his ticket to the national final.
White (48), a Dunedin-based waterproofer, is hoping to match his feat of five years ago, when he won the national title of the International Singles to represent New Zealand at the world event in Blackpool. He was also a member of the New Zealand team, along with Murray Glassey (Hawkes Bay) and fellow Dunedinite Mark Watt, that beat Australia 3-0 in the transtasman challenge. Heading to this year’s national International singles final next month though is the promising Elliot Mason (Forbury Park).
The 24-year-old Dunedin purchasing officer overcame Caleb Hope (Gore) in the final 10-8, 8-4, in a commanding display of pressure bowls that forced Hope into a defence and recovery mode.
"I’m stoked," Mason said as he walked from the rink.
Mason’s victory and trip to the national final in Hastings leaves him with some work to do.
"I don’t think the girlfriend is going to be too happy," he said of being out of town the next three out of four weekends, all for bowls-related reasons.
Mason will be joined at the national finals in Hastings by twin brother Oliver, who booked his place by winning the Dunedin Regional Shanghai Singles last month.
Oliver (Forbury Park) was playing in the World Indoor Pairs final with Lou Robinson (Leith) on Saturday, but they were beaten in a close encounter by the pair of Mario Sopp (Brighton) and Helen Carman (Taieri) 6-5, 8-7, in what proved a popular victory.
While a good section of the crowd were delighted at the pairs victory for Sopp, it was also victory for all of the small clubs in the south. Now playing with the Brighton Club, Sopp was not lacking for support from his old club, Bluff, which had had travelled up to Dunedin to watch the match.
In the final of the second Dunedin ranking singles, Russell Dawe defeated Kaikorai club mate Geoff Wilson 8-5, 12-6.
