CHAIRMAN’S SHIELD 2017
The Chairman’s Shield took place on Sunday and attracted sixteen pairs. The top half of the draw saw Brian Jones and Pat McArthur reach the final with wins against Deanne Moss and Ray Sutton (21-17), Jim Halsall and Mavis Thompson (21-15) and Janice Hobson and Ken Rimmer (21-14).
Their opponents in the final were Bill Bloor and Jason Chapman, who had enjoyed wins against Barry McArthur and Richard Rawcliffe (21-7), Chris Harding and Eileen Rawcliffe (21-20) and in the semi-final, Mike Milne and Noel Morgans (21-14).
The final was a closely fought battle, with Bill and Jason the pair to gain the advantage with a 15-11 lead after ten ends. Brian and Pat are both former winners of pairs titles at the Hesketh Arms, however, and re-gained the lead with a single and a four to lead 16-15. A three for Bill and Jason though proved decisive as they took an 18-16 lead and scored a further three chalks in the next two ends to win the final 21-16. Congratulations to Bill Bloor on winning his first Hesketh club event and to Jason on a second success, having won the Vice-Presidents Pairs with Fergal Wright in 2015.
The Plate competition was won by Mike Dunlop and John McCabe, with a win against Brian Sutton and Laurie Townson in the final.
Mike