BOWLS
Ian Monaghan added to his glittering trophy cabinet, winning his 72nd Wairarapa centre title in the Mr Sold Wairarapa Open singles in Featherston on Sunday.
His commanding victory over Masterton’s Matthew Day in the final was the 11th time he has lifted the open singles trophy and takes his overall haul of centre titles to 76, having also won four titles in Manawatu, Kapiti [two], and Taranaki.
Monaghan, who now bowls out of the Lansdowne Bowling Club, recovered from a first-round loss to Warren Fisher in section play on Saturday at Greytown and qualified for Sunday’s knockout stage at Featherston.
The 63-year-old defeated Greytown’s Darren Meyrick 21-14 and Martinborough’s Garry Muriwai 21-12 to set up a semifinal with Masterton’s Nairn McGibbon, who proved to be a tricky opponent.
“I got away to a 13-3 or 4 lead, and then he fought back and took a 14-13 lead, but that’s when I knuckled down again and pulled away,” Monaghan said.
Day had qualified for the final with a 21-12 defeat of Masterton clubmate Lester Dee in the quarterfinal, followed by a tense 21-20 win over Carrington’s Gavin Hamlyn in the semifinal.
Monaghan made no race of the final, pulling away to win 21-5.
“It was quite good, I had a few local people supporting me during the weekend, and a few against me as well, but I gave them something to cheer for me in the final when I rolled the wrong bias.”
Monaghan was also full of praise for the greens, especially Greytown on Saturday, saying the club’s hard work in upgrading the greens had paid off.
