Jason Evans joins elite BSA Masters company

Jason Evans joined elite men’s company in the Bowls South Africa Masters history books with a fifth title in the Open division on Sunday at Wingate Park Country Club.

Morningside Country Club’s Evans had it all to do during the final day with his place in the gold medal match far from secure after two days of intense sectional play.

The Proteas Number 1, though, started his final sectional match against defending champion Niksa Benguric with the kind of intensity that few bowlers could emulate.

While keeping to his normal self as a funny, jovial character before the game and at times during it, his demeanour on the green soon showed that he was there to do the business.

Evans never relented in the match against Benguric as he knew he needed to win and do so well if he was to stand any chance of playing for gold.

In the end, he finished well to ensure that his side of the bargain had been kept.

Evans was then an onlooker, one of many who visited Wingate Park CC this weekend, for the match between Port Natal’s Wayne Rittmuller and Sables star Wilson Malobolo.

If Rittmuller did indeed lose the fixture then it would be likely that Evans would advance with perhaps some interest in the shot aggregates between Rittmuller and Evans.

Ironically, this decisive match featured the only two players to have toppled Evans in about 25 matches at Wingate Park in the event.

It was a tense encounter with neither player giving way before Malobolo struck the blows with his expert and precise drawing game.

Rittmuller never gave up but the pressure from Malobolo told as he ran out the winner, which meant Evans would indeed get his shot at another gold medal.

He would face the challenge of Proteas teammate Wayne Roberts, fresh off the back of a gold medal in the singles at the African States and a potential pretender to the throne.

Again, the match was evenly poised as Evans and Roberts struggled to take control.

Eventually, it was Evans, who has never lost a final in the event, who hammered home the advantage, picking up a four to move clear down the business end.

He then forced Roberts to play a great shot to save the match but that only seemed to spur Evans on to even better shot-making.

One of the shots of the tournament saw Evans play with some weight to push his opponent’s bowl out of the head as he stayed for the shots he needed to get to 21.

Evans let out a roar of approval and quickly turned to signal to his wife, Louise, in the stands with five fingers outstretched.