The sixth staging of the Hesketh Arms Open Singles competition took place on Saturday, when a full turnout of 32 bowlers battled it out for the title and the £200 first prize.
In the top half of the draw, Fergal Wright was in impressive form, reaching the final with convincing wins against Steve McManus, Darren Evans, Neil Gregson and in the semi-final, Paul Reardon from the Brownmoor Brooke club in Crosby. Paul had reached the last four with wins against Haydn Preece, Aaron Backhouse and Andy Fleming.
In the bottom half of the draw, Darren Edgerley reached the quarter-finals with wins against Dave Gordon and Brian Coleman. The quarter-final saw Darren win a close match against Liam Gregson from Skem Park Rebels 21-18, before an even tougher match in the semi-final against Andy Draper from the host club. This game could have gone either way but it was Darren who edged it 21-20.
The final saw Darren win the first two ends but Fergal then won 12 out of the next 13 to establish a 14-6 lead. Although Darren won five ends out of the next six, Fergal was able to maintain his excellent form to win a high quality final 21-11. This was Fergal’s first Hesketh Arms Open Singles title, having previously lost in two finals, including two years ago against Darren.
· Many thanks to BIRKDALE INSURANCE GROUP for their support in sponsoring this competition.
· Thank you to everyone who came along on the day and helped out with marking cards.
· Thanks also to our referees, Peter and Mary Fishwick, who provided invaluable help in ensuring that the event ran smoothly.
· Thank you to our greenkeeper, Andy Bate, for once again preparing an excellent playing surface.
· Finally, special thanks go to our Vice-President, Bill Bloor, who worked hard all day serving drinks and sandwiches and was on hand at the end to present the prizes.
We look forward to seeing everyone again in 2025 for our Open Doubles and Open Singles competitions.