Strong field of competitors in tournament
Strong competition is expected across all the divisions at Rose Gardens Croquet Club’s annual association tournament at the Esplanade, starting this week.
There will be no overseas players but solid numbers from around New Zealand are entered.
Tomorrow and Wednesday see events for players with handicaps of 4 and over, 9 and over, and a handicap event for players on handicaps of at least 14.
In the 4+ event, young Manawatu¯ player Nicholas Flood, Baubre Murray of Kelburn and Grant Kenny of Plimmerton are top seeds but there are lots of other possible winners.
In the 9+ event, Pam Green of Rose Gardens and Kevin Millard of Masterton are both on handicaps of 9 but Susan Leuchars of Wellington, on a 10 handicap, always plays well in this tournament.
Being a handicap event, the 14+ event is difficult to predict.
Elena Huang of Hamilton East is the top seed on 14, closely followed by Carol Ainsworth of Whakata¯ne and Neil Stantiall of Rose Gardens, both on 16.
How well bisques are played, or defended against, could have amajor effect on the results.
The doubles events are on Thursday and Friday. There are some strong pairs in the open doubles, led by Rose Gardens club president Dennis Bulloch and John Christie of Morrinsville, closely followed by Sue and Len Lea of Wellington and the Rose Gardens pairing of Doug Van Belle and Josh Smith.
There will be some interesting play in the handicap doubles on the same day.
The final two days, Saturday and Sunday, should provide excellent singles play in two events – the open and the scratch plus singles.
The top seeds in the open competition are Tony Stephens of Hawke’s Bay, Bulloch and Christie. However, young Manawatu¯ players Andre Murray and Smith should not be written off.
Top seeds in the scratch plus event are Graeme Fisher of Wellington and Marion Mcinnes of Waimarie Hutt Valley.
However, some upset results could come from young players Flood and Paul Kaiser of Rose Gardens and Robbie Spooner of Wellington.
The tournament starts tomorrow and runs until Sunday. Play begins at 8.30am each day.