General News
6 January, 2020
Camperdown crowns top bowler
IT was a case of second time lucky for Camperdown bowler Luke Wright just before the new year.
IT was a case of second time lucky for Camperdown bowler Luke Wright just before the new year.
The 23 year-old broke through for his first club championship 12 months to the day he lost in the 2018 final of the same event.
He rebounded from a two shot defeat against Mark McDonald in 2018 to defeat Len Searle to win the 2019 final.
Wright, a skipper in the club’s division one side, said he was thrilled to win his maiden singles title.
“It was a lot of hard work, especially the final it was quite warm so I’m pretty glad,” he said.
“I suppose I wanted to make sure getting so close last year that I would give it my best shot this year so I was glad to get over the line this time.”
The match, which was played in 36 degree heat in late December, saw Wright make an early break on Searle.
He shot out to a 9-3 lead before Searle fought his way back into the contest with an 11-5 run, levelling the match at 14 shots apiece.
No sooner than Searle had levelled, Wright kicked clear again, with a three shot break pushing the scoreline to 17-14 in his favour.
Searle claimed a shot on the next end to cut the deficit back to two before another three shots took Wright out to a 20-15 advantage.
From that point, Wright upped the ante, adding one, two and one over the next three ends to get within one shot of victory.
Wright was then forced to wait a couple of ends with Searle claiming two shots to narrow the margin back to seven before the leader finally landed two shots to score a 26-17 win.
Wright said he was thrilled with his effort, with he and Searle both enduring their own struggles with the green’s slower pace early in their match.
“I found my weight coming back this way (towards the clubhouse) and I started winning a few ends towards the clubhouse,” he said.
“I don’t know what it was but we were both struggling early but I found my weight in the last few ends and pulled away so that was good.”
Wright’s victory has qualified him for Corangamite Bowls Division’s Champion of Champions event which starts next Sunday at Colac Bowling Club.
He is scheduled to play Winchelsea’s Rhys Jeffs in his first match, with the winners progressing through to the quarter-finals of the event which runs over two days (January 19 and 26).
“It’ll be good to test myself against all of the other clubs’ best (bowlers) so we’ll see how we go but it should be alright,” Wright said.
Wright is also hopeful his recent singles win can transfer into the club’s pennant campaign, with the side currently fourth on the ladder.
They have a home double header against Simpson and Camperdown Golf this weekend, with wins in both contests vital to the side’s finals hopes.
“It would be good to (carry my form) because in pennant in a couple of weeks (this weekend) we’re playing a double header, and we need to keep winning so hopefully I can keep up my form,” Wright said.