Late comeback earns Elgar national title

In a spectacular finish, Dean Elgar and his team from the West End club in New Plymouth won the New Zealand men’s fours championship in Wellington yesterday.

Elgar, who teamed with clubmates Neil Candy, Bruce Hall and Gavin Scrivener (Aramoho, Wanganui), beat Michael Kernaghan (North East Valley) 23-22 in the decider.

With two of the 21 ends left it looked like Kernaghan and his team of Roger Stevens, Andy McLean and Andrew Kelly were heading for victory as they led by five shots. However, Elgar had other ideas.

One down on the head in the penultimate end, he drove the shot bowl, dislodging the jack into the ditch for four shots. Kernaghan didn’t reduce with his last and Elgar added the bonus to tie the game up with one end to play.

Scrivener set Elgar’s team up superbly on the last end with two close bowls, Candy drew the shot itself and the side then added in the cover. Kernaghan’s team attempted to reach through on the narrow side without success and the skip’s first bowl, a draw, was short.

Kernaghan changed to the wide forehand with his last bowl, running through the head. He moved the jack, but Elgar’s first bowl then became the closest and the title winner.

In the semifinals, Elgar saw off Lloyd Fitness, Dave Henderson, Richard Hocking and Dean Drummond (Hastings) 21-6, while Kernaghan eased past the Central Otago side of Roger O’Brien, Conor Muir, Howard O’Donnell and Pat Houlahan 20-11.

Meanwhile, Burnside’s Mandy Boyd won her fifth New Zealand women’s fours title when she skipped her sister Angela, Leigh Griffin and Kirsten Edwards to the crown.

They defeated Queenstown’s Margaret O’Connor and her team of Anne Dorreen, Linley O’Callaghan and Christine Buchanan 20-13 with one end left unplayed.

O’Connor’s team started the final the better, leading 7-3 after six ends. But the Boyd quartet, who were also champions in 2016, won the next three ends to take the initiative 9-7. A brace to O’Connor on the following head tied the match up after 10 ends.

Boyd’s team dominated after that. They took the next six ends to open up a 19-9 lead.