ELGAR’S BRAVE BID
Dean Elgar’s brave bid to become the world bowls champion has come up short – but only after a superb effort in making it to the final.
Elgar, of New Plymouth’s West End club, turned on an outstanding display on Friday and Saturday to make the final of the world champion-of-champions singles at the St Johns Park, New South Wales.
But Sunday’s final, against Australia’s Aaron Teys, was a step too far for Elgar, with Teys dominating the match to win 12-1, 8-4.
‘‘It was disappointing to go like that,’’ Elgar said shortly after the final.
‘‘Overall, I’ve played very well, but today I just couldn’t pick it. We had a lot of overnight rain and I thought it would have been heavier, but I kept going through the head.’’
After dropping a three but gaining a single from the first two ends, of nine scheduled, in the opening set, Elgar was in touch.
But Teys then applied the pressure drawing consistently well and moving the jack around when Elgar held shots to win the remaining ends in the set.
Elgar started the second set better, scoring a brace.
But Teys won the next four ends with seven points to lead 7-2.
Elgar pulled a single back and held a further shot on the seventh end but turned Teys bowl in for shot, which ended his chase.
‘‘If you had said to me two days ago ‘here is a silver medal’ I would have taken it,’’ Elgar said.
‘‘I had to play like yesterday but it wasn’t to be.’’
To make the final, Elgar won six-straight games.
In section play on Thursday, he had a win, a loss and a win.
That meant he needed three wins from as many games on Friday to make the top three of his pool.
He did that with some class, including the scalp of the David Kingdom (Wales), who finished top of the pool and lost in the semifinals to Teys.
That put Elgar into the last six. In the preliminary final on Saturday morning, Elgar beat Barry Kane (Ireland) 7-4, 7-7. He then accounted for Scotland’s Derek Oliver 10-5, 10-7 in an excellent display in the semifinals.
Elgar’s invitation to the world event followed his victory in the New Zealand singles, which was held in New Plymouth in January.