Report – Metlifecare NZ Masters 2024

Murray Mathieson was the star of the Bowls North Harbour centre’s 2024 Metlifecare NZ Masters Open which came to a successful conclusion on Friday. Mathieson, who has had an illustrious sporting and bowls career, made the finals of the three disciplines for which he was eligible, and won all three, the Men’s 75+ Pairs, the Men’s 75+ Fours and the 75+ Mixed Pairs. In the men’s pairs he partnered Chris Taylor, like Murray a Takapuna club life member, to a win in the final over two other distinguished Harbour bowlers, in Sandy Cleghorn, from Birkenhead, and Roy Parker, now with Beach-haven, in a cliff-hanger, 11-10. In the mixed pairs final he and Geraldine Wight, again in a tense contest, had a 9-8 win over Northland’s Ann Muir, a former Black Jack and national titleholder, and Ian Bowick. Only the fours was won with relative comfort, with Taylor at skip, Walter Howden and Leighton Bristol, beating Orewa’s Murray Vallance, Ted Jackett, Gordon Simpson and Allan Ferguson, 14-6.

Taylor, who is a centre gold-star holder, thus finished with a double and for the Takapuna lineup it was a successful defense of last year’s title. There was special merit for Mathieson and Taylor in the pairs win, as indeed there was for the runners-up, Carmichael and Parker, for both overcame formidable opponents in the semi-finals, Mathieson and Taylor beating two former national title-holders from Auckland’s Carlton-Cornwall, Petar Sain and Wally Marsic, and Carmichael and Parker beating two of Harbour’s own living legends, John Walker and Colin Rogan.

For the most part teams from Harbour’s club won the finals.

In the Women’s 60-74 Pairs Takapuna’s Wendy Jensen and Robyne Walker beat Elaine McClintock and Kerin Roberts, from Mairangi Bay, 10-7. Jensen and Walker having ousted club-mates Adele Ineson and Connie Mathieson in one semi-final and McClintock and Roberts in the other beating Bay of Plenty’s Gayle Melrose and Mary Campbell.
There was another top performance in the Women’s 75+ Pairs final, with Mairangi Bay’s Jan Gledhill and Colleen Rice, both extremely consistent in recent years, having a 10-9 win over Northlanders, Muir and Jill Fraser.

There was a lovely touch, too, in the 60-74 mixed final, when Browns Bay’s Lin East and the remarkable Lloyd Sinton had a comfortable over Papakura’s Andre Rautenbach and Geri Bremner. This was consolation for East and Sinton, who were runners-up in this event last year. With his bowling arm the severely disabled Sinton with his consistency showed again he was more than capable competing with able-bodied opponents.

Mairangi Bay members, Judi Farkash and Rosemary Nicol, both not long out of junior ranks, added to that club’s many successes when in the 60-74 Women’s Fours final when skipped by national champion Leanne Poulson and with Ineson at three, they had a 12-7 win over Elaine McClintock, Kerin Roberts, Jan Harrison and Maureen Howden.

While Elaine was beaten twice in her finals, husband Bruce had success in the 60-74 Men’s Fours, playing in a composite with Phil Chisholm, Lindsay Gilmore and Bart Robertson which had a 12-7 win over Orewa’s Greg Wallace, Martin Hitchings, Graeme Roberts and Warren Seeque.

The solid contingent of Northland bowlers, had some success. Muir matched Mathieson by making three finals and compensated for her narrow losses in two of them, by being in the winning Women’s 75+ Fours team. With Clare Bowman, Jill Fraser and Jenny Welch she had a decisive win over Takapuna’s Megan Ratcliffe, Lyn Calver, Irene Costello and Jan Calcott.  And Garry Fraser and Paul Price, from Whangarei’s Kamo club, won the Men’s 60-74 Pairs final, beating Milford’s Charlie McDonald and Greg Hurn in the final.