South Holland favourite Jordan Philpott was crowned under-25 Spalding Open singles champion after an action packed day of bowling at the Castle Sports Complex on Saturday.
Some 24 players entered the premier three style format competition, with each player having three bowls and matches – consisting of a best of three sets format, with each set having just three bowls.
The players were split into four groups, with a series of round robin matches to determine two qualifiers from each, to set up four knockout quarter-finals.
In the last eight, Philpott was joined by another Spalding Indoor Bowls Club player in Lucy Cooke, with a packed crowd cheering them both on.
Cooke came up against Lee Calver – and despite playing some great bowls, she lost out in the deciding set.
Philpott’s match also went to the deciding set, but he got the better of Jamie Barker to book his place in the semi-final.
The other two matches went to a decider too, with Katy Baxter defeating Dan Seabourne and Alex Walton beating Martin Heitzmann.
The semis proved a little more one-sided in terms of set scores, with Alex Walton (St Neots) beating Baxter 2-0 and Philpott seeing off Lee Calver in straights sets.
Cheered on by the home crowd, Jordan found his form in the final – but after two sets, the scores were level.
Two ends later, there was still nothing to split the two, but it was the Spalding ace who held his nerve to take the decider and claim the title, along with the £350 prize money.
A proud Philpott said: “I’m delighted with the win.
“I received such good support and it was good to bounce back from a disappointing loss in the under-18 national singles final the week before.”
The event wouldn’t have been possible without the continued support of Marie and Michael Penfold, from the Stonehaven Residential Home in Quadring.
They provided generous prize money for all participants who reached the last eight onwards. Losing quarter-finalists received £25 each, with the beaten semi-finalists taking home £75 each. Walton received £150 as a consolation for losing in the final.
Spalding IBC’s thanks go to Graham Smith and daughter Beth for running the event on the day. Thanks also go to the helpers, markers and umpires Les and Colin, all of whom worked tirelessly to ensure the event was a success.
p Spalding’s friendly side were in fine form on Saturday as they handed Deeping BA a sound beating.
Although a late start, with Deeping short of two players (which Spalding were able to supply), the game was both friendly and enjoyable.
Spalding gained an early ten-shot lead after five ends, which increased to a 35-shot advantage by the half way stage, finishing with an overall win of 140-62.
Spalding won on five of the six rinks, with the best one being Jenny Collins, Jenny Horner and Maisie Belding (skip).
Geoff Craft was captain for the day.
