Good week for Ewen as his bowls run true
Twenty-four bowlers took part in the weekly hat night competition last Tuesday evening when the winners were Mike Duffy and skip Ewen MacRitchie.
As is now the norm, play was over three sets of six ends. After one set Joan Nicolson and skip Ian Scott shared second place with Mike and Ewen on eight shots, just one shot behind Margaret Johnson and skip Davie Hunter.
In the second set Mike and Ewen moved on to 13 shots, while Margaret and Davie reached 14. But out in front on 15 shots Joan and Ian were joined by Willie Tait and skip Pat Hunter. Margaret and Davie took their total to 19 shots in set three to take third place three shots behind Joan and Ian but, winners on 27 shots were Mike and Ewen.
Eight pairs entered the Morton Lodge 89 Open Pairs three-bowl competition which was won for the second year running by Ewen MacRitchie and skip Alan Smith.
The pairs were divided into two groups and each group was run in a round robin fashion with each game being played over two sets of seven ends and a deciding set of three ends if necessary. The group stages were played off on Saturday afternoon in brilliant sunshine.
Section A was won by Eleanor Black and skip Davie Hunter followed by Gordon Stevenson and skip Pat Hunter. In Section B Jean Jarmson and skip John Jarmson were runners up to Ewen and Alan.
On Sunday afternoon the bowlers were again blessed with bright sunshine for the semi-finals and final.
Ewen and Alan took on Gordon and Pat on rink four. The first set was very tight and scores were level at four shots each going into the final end which Ewen and Alan took by three shots to win the first set. Ewen and Alan took command of the second set from an early stage and ran out 8-4 winners, taking the match by two sets to nil.
Meanwhile, on rink two Eleanor and Davie were playing Jean and John. The first set saw Jean and John take a five-shot lead over the first two ends only for Eleanor and Davie to come back and win the set 7-6.
In the second set Jean and John made a similar start to lead 4-0 after two ends. Again Eleanor and Davie started a come back but, on this occasion it was not so successful and they eventually went down by 8-7.
So play went in to a third set of three ends only. Jean and John had the edge in this set and were able to take the first two ends and so win the match by two sets to one.
The final was played over two sets of nine ends with a deciding set of three ends if required. Play was very tight in the first set with Ewen and Alan having the rub of the green. After eight ends they were 6-2 ahead and with their opponents chasing the game were able to pick up a further three shots on the final end to take the first set 9-2.
The second set followed a similar pattern to the first with Ewen and Alan having the edge although both pairs played some excellent bowls. With seven ends played Jean and John looked as though they might turn the tables when they had come back to trail 7-4.
However, Ewen and Alan scored a single on the next end to hold a four shot lead going into the final end. Jean’s final bowl picked up the jack and ran it into the ditch but John was unable to profit from this and they took only a single shot from the end and so lost the set 8-5. This gave Ewen and Alan a two sets to nil victory and the trophy.
Past master Gordon Stevenson presented the cup to Ewen and Alan on behalf of Morton Lodge.
There will be no coaching tomorrow since the coaches are in Wick to take part in the St Fergus Triples Competition.
Premier competition results – greens: George Mundie 21, Pat Hunter 15.
Handicap: Ernie Munro (-3) 21, Eleanor Black (-2) 18; Willie Tait (scratch) 3, Shauna Terris (scratch) 21.
Ladies’ championship: Shauna Terris 12, Margaret Johnson 21.
Men’s championship: George Mundie 21, Gordon Stevenson 11.
Veterans: Joan Nicolson 15, Ian Younger 9; George Mundie 16, Gordon Stevenson 11.
Pairs: Pat Hunter and skip Davie Hunter 19, Shauna Terris and skip Anne Barron 12; Ian Scott and skip Ewen MacRitchie 28, Willie Tait and skip Babs Mundie 2.
