Petts makes history with county triumph

A Whitstable bowler has made history by becoming the Kent unbadged champion.

Tony Petts is the first member of the club to claim the crown since the competition was launched 43 years ago.

He climaxed a successful campaign by by beating VCD’S John Coatham 21-13 in the final at Maidstone on Sunday and the 58-year-old hopes his success will help raise the club’s profile.

Petts, who is in his ninth season at Whitstable, said: “It’s been a long time coming from the club’s point of view and hopefully this will help put us on the map a little bit.

“We’ve been striving to get a bowler to county status, hopefully this can only promote us. Whitstable are a great club and we’d like to attract a few more people down to play,”

Started in 1974, the unbadged competition is for bowlers who have not achieved county status and Petts, who also coaches at Whitstable, came through nine games in total. Four of those were at the Castle greens with two at Folkestone Park and two more at Tonbridge before the final.

His closest call came in his last 16 contest against an opponent from Victoria Park when he trailed 20-19 before picking up two to sneak home.

The final at Maidstone proved relatively straightforward in comparison although Petts, who scored six shots without reply to turn a 10-6 lead into a decisive 16-6 advantage, said he had to keep his wits about him on greens which had been made slicker by rain the previous day.

He said: “I was always in front and felt under control, or at least as much as you can be but you never know.

“He’d come back in his quarter and semi-finals but fortunately he did not come back this time.”

Petts, who switched to bowls after being a low handicap golfer, will receive his county badge on the green when he makes his Kent debut next season but in the meantime he still has plenty to play for before this summer is out.

As well as being in the finals of Whitstable’s Ten Point, Yardstick and men’s pairs competitions, he is also through to the last four in the handicap and championship singles.

He said: “Things are going well for me this season. My game’s improved a lot but having played to this standard, I’ve now got to maintain it, that’s the scary thing.”

‘I was always in front and felt under control, or at least as much as you can be’

Whitstable bowler Tony Petts following his win in the Kent unbadged competition at Maidstone on Sunday