Qldrs in #AusOpenGC men’s fours final
Girdler, McWhinney, Law and McIlroy narrowly snatch victory in semi-final, winning by one shot Queenslanders Paul Girdler, Dean McWhinney, Ian Law and their New Zealand ring-in Shannon McIlroy, will play in the Australian Open fours final later this afternoon (Sunday) after winning the semi-final by just one shot yesterday.
They will take on the much-fancied South Australian green-keeper contingent of Steven Dennis, Nathan Pederson, Wayne Ruediger and Scott Thulborn, who have shown steely determination throughout the competition.
The match is due to start at 5.00pm at Broadbeach.
In yesterday’s semi-final, Girdler, the Tweed Head’s Bowls Coordinator, looked to have the early control in his encounter against the makeshift combination of Bruce Jones, Jason Watkins, John Aldersley and Darren Morrison, who have been in red hot form on the Gold Coast this week.
But a blockbuster finish had the crowds on the edge of their seats as Girdler and team nearly gave away what many earlier thought was an insurmountable lead.
Leading by as many as eight shots on two occasions (10-2 after five and 16-8 after 13), Girdler’s quartet seemed to have the game wrapped up and weren’t fazed when they surrendered two shots on the penultimate end.
But on their disastrous last end they were visibly distressed when then realised they might have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, until Girdler announced “five down”, granting them a one shot victory.
Visit the Bowls Australia website for a full rundown of the close semi-final encounter.
Meanwhile, the men’s and women’s pairs knockout rounds will continue today after yesterday’s sectionals. The results and draws can be found here.
