Murphy’s law as history repeats
Australia want more
Exuberant Australian bowls star Karen Murphy proclaimed Burnside her ‘‘favourite club in the world’’ after successfully defending her world singles title.
The 41-year-old became only the third player in World Bowls tournament history to win back to back women’s singles gold medals and the first for 24 years.
Murphy clinched Australia’s third gold medal in Christchurch yesterday out of four weekend finals - joining the women’s fours team and men’s pair of Aaron Wilson and Brett Wilkie on the top rung of the podium.
She played a perfect shot on the 20th end to secure the four shots she needed to beat Scotland’s Lesley Doig 21-13 in the final at the Burnside green.
It was a brilliant way to end the game and gift-wrap the gold medal and while Murphy knew her ‘‘line was good’’, she admitted: ‘‘Sometimes you get them and sometimes you don’t.’’
Murphy said being the first repeat champion since Ireland’s Margaret Johnston in 1988 and 1992 was a proud moment.
‘‘It wasn’t something I was thinking about in th final, but it might hit me more in couple of months time.
‘‘It’s so hard [to achieve a double]. Firstly, you’ve got to get picked in the team to get a chance to defend your title, and then you’ve got to get selected in that event.
‘‘I was really happy the selectors showed faith in me to do the job again.’’
Murphy lost a game in roundrobin play to Kenyan Susan Waruguru Kariuki and also dropped a 21-20 cliffhanger to Kiwi star Jo Edwards.
She sets high standards for herself and did not think she was on top of her game in the playoff or semifinal, but was ‘‘happy because of the way I played in the final’’.
Murphy got the solid start she craved, racing out to a 6-0 lead after the first four ends.
But Doig displayed the grit that earned her a semifinal win over Edwards to claw her way back to 6-6 after a three on the sixth end and a two on the seventh.
Murphy reasserted control from that point but was conscious Doig, ‘‘a really good indoor player’’, was ‘‘only four behind me and I couldn’t afford to slack off’’.
The Australian gave herself a buffer with three on the ninth end but Doig matched that on the 12th. Murphy hit straight back with another two and finished with her four-point flourish.
It was another title for Murphy at Burnside where she won the world fours in 2008 and claimed a bronze in the pairs and the Asia Pacific pairs and fours titles.
‘‘It’s my favourite club in the whole world, Burnside. I’m not just saying that, it really is.
‘‘If I looked at the clubs where I’ve had my most success, [Australia’s] Tweed Heads and her would be my favourite hunting grounds. I love the greens here and it gives me the confidence to play well.’’
Murphy had never played Doig, a first time World Bowls entrant, at singles before but acknowledged her as ‘‘a class player’’.
‘‘For a northern hemisphere player to come and play on these greens and make a final, is a fantastic effort.’’
Doig said she struggled with her first bowl throughout the final while ‘‘Karen was just brilliant the whole game. I’m over the moon to win a silver.’’
Murphy joined Johnston and New Zealand’s Elsie Wilkie (1973-1977) as the only back to back women’s champions.
She said it had been ‘‘a great weekend’’ for Australian bowls and she was ‘‘really proud of the team’’, but she was ‘‘really excited about the week ahead’’ and partnering fours gold medallist Kelsey Cottrell in the pairs.
Murphy now has four world titles - two behind Ireland’s Johnston, who won three singles golds and three pairs crowns.
Australian head coach Steve Glasson, who enjoyed a mid-match high-five from Murphy after one of her best precision shots, described her as ‘‘one of the icons of the sport’’.
‘‘To go back-to back is legendary stuff.’’ Head coach Steve Glasson says the Australian Jackaroos will have ‘‘a bigger target on our backs now’’ after three World Bowls gold medals but he warned they will not ‘‘rest on our laurels’’.
‘‘I don’t think it’s sunk it yet; it’s just been phenomenal,’’ he said.
Glasson said the Jackaroos planned to celebrate at a team dinner on Saturday night, but would regroup after today’s rest day and focus on more success in the final four disciplines.
He said Australia had put a lot of work into their international programme and the successful bowlers deserved all the accolades.
Women’s singles champion Karen Murphy collected her fourth world title, but at the other end end of the experience spectrum, pairs skip Aaron Wilson won gold at his first World Bowls tournament.
Wilson, 25, and Brett Wilkie, 42, have scored a comfortable men’s pairs win over Ireland’s Ian Mcclure and Gary Kelly 18-7 with an end to spare yesterday.
Lead Wilkie and skip Wilson started strongly with two shots on the first end and were relentlessly consistent on their march to the title.
Glasson hailed the gold medalwinning women’s four of Natasha Scott (skip), Kelsey Cottrell, Rebecca van Asch and Carla Krizanic, for buying into a dramatic team reshuffle after four rounds of section play.
The revamped lineup won every game, thrashing Ellen Falkner’s previously unbeaten England team 23-8 in their final on Saturday.
Australia was only one shot away from winning a fourth title, but the men’s triples team lost a gripping extra end final to England.
Australian skip Aron Sherriff narrowly missed the shot bowl with a drive off the final delivery of the 19th end, allowing England to clinch a 15-14 win on Saturday.
‘‘I love the greens here and it gives me the confidence to play well.’’ Karen Murphy