Tauranga bowlers Marilyn McLeod, Steve Beel and Lance Tasker - all Bay of Plenty representatives - skipped away with two titles and $4000 in prizemoney among them at the New Zealand Open in Auckland.
McLeod, using new bowls, overcame past national champion Anne Bateman (Whangarei) to win the women's singles 21-16,while Beel and Tasker (Mount Manganui) joined North Harbour's Tony Grantham to beat a strong Auckland combination and collect the men's triples.
Playing on a slick Henderson green, Bateman took the early advantage over McLeod (Tauranga South), leading 9-4 and 11-7. Picking up two maximum fours lifted McLeod's spirit.
She drew even at 11-all and went ahead 16-12 but Bateman came back and levelled at 16-all. McLeod then calmly picked up two singles and a three to record her career-best victory.
"It was a game of two halves, but I got my weight over the closing ends and that was the difference," said an ecstatic McLeod, who has been playing 23 years.
"It's just nice to come up here and play somebody different, and the win is right up there, that's for sure," she said. McLeod beat third-year player South African Liz Badenhorst 21-8 in the semifinal.
Auckland has been a happy hunting ground for her. She won the women's premier singles there in 2006 and has been a semifinalist in the national pairs twice.
Beel and Tasker, both national titleholders, got a flyer in their final against Aucklanders Grant Goodwin, Chris Lowe and Martin Dixon. They picked up a five, from six bowls, on the first end and then led 8-2.
Goodwin got back to 7-9 but the experienced Beel, Tasker and Grantham, a past national singles champion, held on to leads of 12-7, 13-9 and finally won 15-11.
