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Click here to see the 2009 Janome NSW Open photo gallery.

Murphy reigns supreme

 

A year after tasting defeat as a raging favourite in the final of the women’s fours, world number five Karen Murphy has returned to the Janome NSW Open victorious.

During last year’s tournament, Murphy, along with her world championship winning line-up of Lynsey Armitage, Julie Keegan and Claire Duke, were expected to hoist the trophy aloft, but came up short in the final against Western Australia’s Therese Hastings.

Twelve months down the track, Murphy returned to the scene of the crime, be it with a new outfit by her side, and duly saluted as she claimed her 12th grand prix title.

Playing alongside national teammates Penny Landherr and Anne Johns, as well as teenage sensation Natasha Van Eldik, the victory completed the grand slam for the year for the Cabramatta star as she added the fours title to the singles crown she defended at the Australian Indoor Championships and the pairs and triples titles she won at the Australian Open.

"I actually hadn’t won a title in NSW before so I was really happy," the 12-time GP winner said.

"I hadn’t played with Penny or Natasha before, but I’ve played with Jimmy (Johns) and it was fantastic.

"We had a really hard game and just snuck home in the final."

Lining up against Lisa Mitchell and Neutral Bay’s Jenny Palmer, Lynne Thompson and Lou Witton, little separated either combination as the wind made conditions extremely trying.

Despite trailing 7-11 after dropping a four on the 11th end, Murphy urged her troops to stick to the task and they responded accordingly.

Back-to-back triples on the 14th and 15th ends handed them the ascendancy before closing the match out with singles on the final two ends.

The win handed Landherr her maiden GP title, more than five years after contesting the inaugural final in South Australian, while it was Johns and Van Eldik’s second apiece after triumphing in the triples at the Australian Open and BCiB Queensland Open respectively.

Special K strikes

 

Teenage prodigy Kristina Krstic has completed a fairytale run through the $30,000 Janome NSW Open by capturing the women’s pairs title at the Taren Point earlier today.

Playing alongside world number five Karen Murphy, the Perth high school student became the youngest ever winner on the Bowls Australia grand prix circuit at 15 years and 116 days.

The win was all the more remarkable given the caliber of opponents she faced.

Lining up against World Championship gold medallists and defending champions Lynsey Armitage (Helensvale) and Julie Keegan (Coolum Beach), Krstic held her nerve in the trying conditions as she united with Murphy to post a 6-3, 11-4 victory.

While Krstic was the talking point at Taren Point, the win also capped off a stunning week for Murphy, who earlier in the day captured the fours title alongside national teammates Penny Landherr and Anne Johns, as well as Raymond Terrace’s Natasha Van Eldik, providing her with her 12th and 13th titles respectively.

The star-studded line-up had to summon up all their courage to see off four-time finalist Lisa Mitchell and her Neutral Bay teammates Jenny Palmer, Lynne Thompson and Lou Witton 16-13.

"It was fantastic to play with Kristina this week," Murphy said.

"At 15 I can’t believe how well she has played."

Maintaining her levelness, the Manning bowler quickly deflected the attention to the three-time Commonwealth Games representative.

"It was amazing," Krstic said.

"I never thought I’d get an opportunity to play with Karen…it was an amazing experience and I just learnt so much."

In the men’s pairs final, England’s David Holt and South Africa’s Neil Burkett proved experience can prevail over youth as they defeated Australian under-25 representatives Carl Healey and David Ferguson.

The 8-3, 11-7 victory provided Burkett with his maiden GP title, while it was Holt’s second after prevailing in the fours at Taren Point last year.

Click here for full results from the 2009 Janome NSW Open.

Class is forever

 

Class is forever

Two of the games modern day greats, David Holt and Neil Burkett, have prevailed in the men’s pairs final at the Janome NSW Open.

Squaring off against Australian under-25 skip David Ferguson and his national teammate Carl Healey, Holt and Burkett overcame a horror draw and thunderous conditions to register an 8-3, 11-7 victory.

The win provides Burkett, South Africa’s most capped international with more than 550 games under his belt, with his first Bowls Australia grand prix title, while Holt, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist for England, claimed his second after capturing the fours at Taren Point last year.

Having seen off New Zealand’s Peter Belliss and Canada’s Ryan Bester earlier in the day, Healey and Ferguson came up short in the championship decider, as ferocious winds once again played havoc on the TV rink.

With Holt leading superbly, the international pairing were able to race to a 7-1 lead through the opening six ends of the first set and comfortably closed out the encounter to obtain the early momentum.

Just like the first set, Holt and Burkett opened up a slick 7-2 lead through six ends of the second and appeared to have the title at their mercy, but a classic drive from Ferguson had the potential to turn the final on its head.

Scattering bowls everywhere Ferguson was left holding four with one left in the gun for Burkett, but the South African uncharacteristically was unable to draw to the ditch as his bowl remained outside the boundary peg to provide the NSWIS players with hope.

Down 6-7 playing the penultimate end of the match, the momentum appeared to be with the young guns who were closing in on a tie-break, but just as quickly as things had turned around, the momentum shifted again.

This time it was Ferguson who was unable to draw through the head as Holt and Burkett collected four of their own to leave Healey and Ferguson requiring a full count on the final end to remain alive.

Unfortunately for the Australians, they were unable to prevent a single, handing Holt and Burkett a lauded victory.