Cook In Zone Championship Final
Double Bay’s top-rated player, James Cook (pictured), on Sunday won his way into Zone 11’s Champion of Club Champions State Singles final.
He qualified for the event by winning Double Bay’s 2008 Major Singles crown in April and his progress to the Zone Champions final at the weekend was in unusual circumstances.
Heavy rain forced the postponement of the first and second rounds of the event on Saturday at South Coogee, but improved weather on Sunday allowed organisers to reschedule the matches, where Cook had a first round bye.
In the second round, Cook came up against R. Lewis, from Camperdown, and had little trouble in adapting to a heavy green and ran out a comfortable winner 31-18.
In the afternoon’s semi-final Cook was drawn to come up against Randwick’s singles champion, S. Tuijier, but surprisingly received a forfeit passage into the final, where he will clash with the winner of the semi-final between last year’s Zone champion, Ray Pearse (Alexandria-Erskineville) or Tony Hughes (Eastlakes).
Winner gains entry into the Bowls NSW Champion of Club Champions Singles (State Finals) on November 3 and 4 at Raymond Terrace.
Whether the Zone final will be decided this weekend depends on Cook’s and Pearse’s commitments with the Zone 11 side which will compete in the Inter-Zone Sides Championship at Birrong Bowling Club on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Cook is listed to play third for Pearse as skip in the event where Zone 11 has drawn a tough round robin section against Zones 15, 5 and 10.
First game is on Friday afternoon. Two games on Saturday will decided the section winners which qualify for the semi-finals on Sunday morning with the championship final in the afternoon.
Cook is Double Bay’s lone representative in the Zone 11 squad, but Gerald Weinberg is the side manager and is listed among the three reserves.
FOURS TITLES: Rain washed out play in the first round of the club’s 2008 Major Fours Championship last Saturday. Organisers have rescheduled the matches for this Saturday.