Wanganui's Tigers of Turf

The winning team at the regional final of the 2016 TigerTurf tournament was Les Murcott, Dianne Patterson and Ray Savage.

The Whanganui team of Les Murcott, Dianne Patterson and Ray Savage have earned the chance to finish on top of the $20,000 national TigerTurf tournament after winning the northern regional final on home soil last weekend.

TigerTurf Winter League tournaments are held on artificial greens around the country, like the one at the Wanganui Bowling Club where the regional final was contested.

The league is a pairs tournament which is played by teams of three who can make a substitution at any time, as well as having other innovations such as 30 second time limits to make a bowl.

"It is played over two sets of five ends and if the sets are one each, a shootout over one end is played to determine the winner," said regional Bowls NZ development officer Keith Slight.

"Power Plays can be taken with one in each set where the shots scored count as doubled."

With Patterson as skip, she along with Savage and Murcott won the final against the Oakura/New Plymouth team skipped by Jim Priest.

"I have another regional final in Wellington this weekend where there will be 16 teams vying for the one spot to join the Whanganui winner for an all-expenses paid trip to the Grand Final to be held in Auckland on August 27," said Slight.

"Prize money throughout the series including the final has been keenly contested from players from all over New Zealand over the past two months."

The TigerTurf format came from the APL League in Australia, which is screened nationally there and on Sky TV in New Zealand in November.

A New Zealand team made up of players from the Black Jacks won the APL in 2015 and defend their title this year.