Bowls: Tanfield duo suffer cruellest of defeats in tense Pairs final

Published on Tuesday 4 August 2009 11:58

WHILE Scott Mackintosh suffered the agony of letting the Scottish Singles title slip through his fingers after having it in the palm of his hand, his District 11 colleagues Alec Thompson and Graeme McIntosh of Tanfield endured an even more traumatic and dramatic defeat in the final of the Pairs at Ayr Northfield.

The Tanfield partnership – and their support – displayed tremendous sportsmanship in the split-second moment that transformed the imminent title celebration into the gut-wrenching realisation that the great prize had been denied them. If there was an upside to it then it was that they were victims of a magical climax that saw Davy Ross and Sandy McDougall of Glenmavis (Bathgate) snatch the title with a sensational last-bowl delivery – at an extra end.

McDougall became the hero when he overcame huge pressure in front of a crowded banking to draw an inch-perfect shot with the very last bowl when the margin of error was zero.

The decision to draw rather than strike was both bold and brave so the expectation level of McDougall producing "the bowl of the entire championships" wasn't itself much higher than zero due to the technical challenges that confronted him.

"What can you say? Our world collapsed in front of our very eyes yet there was no luck involved and in that instant you could only applaud the exceptional skill that had robbed us of what would have been our greatest moment in the sport," summed up McIntosh.

If 41-year-old McDougall – the No.16 seed in the recent West Lothian Masters – had been capable of a triple cartwheel he would have done so but he wisely settled for an upward look to the heavens and a wide smile that embraced the thunderous applause. The title was a first national for the Glenmavis club and made the championships a memorable one for the town of Bathgate, with the Ladies Singles title annexed by Lorraine Malloy of neighbour club Springgrove.

Tanfield went into the last end of the final holding a four-shot lead but were forced after a measure into an extra-end decider on which both Thompson and McIntosh played exceptionally well.

Dee Hogan – a niece of 2000 singles champion John McCrorie – captured the Junior Singles for East Lothian, with the young Tranent star earning great applause for style and content in her straight-sets win over Stacey Lungley of Gourock Park in the final.

It was the perfect climax to a great campaign for Hogan, who included junior cap Lisa Barrett of Winchburgh and holder Lesley Gordon of Strathmiglo among her victims.

And East Lothian celebrated a title double with Port Seton sisters Lauren and Leanne Baillie defeating Janette Hush and Diane McEwan in the semi-finals of the 4-Bowl Pairs then St Vincent, 20-13, in the final.

Retired newsagent Eleanor Bannerman and her partner Janet Dow of Eskmills made a bold run to the final of the 2-Bowl pairs but lost 17-12 to Irvine Park.

Port Seton suffered a surprise 24-7 defeat from New Abbey in the final of the Gents Triples, and Blackburn were edged out 17-15 by Castle Kennedy in the Ladies version. The Willowbrae rink of Margaret Moffat, Dorothy Drummond, Ann Skirving and Grace McGregor lost 21-12 to Kilmarnock Portland in the Fours final.