A report of the 3rd qualifying session of the Woodfield Open on Saturday 23rd April by organiser Joe Dicken. Full scores can be found here.
Stuart Rutter (Number 2): Stuart had the hardest qualifying run of the session, playing a good friend in Callum Wraight first game and then clubmate Jamie Wyer in the qualifier. Using his vast green knowledge and bowling ability Stuart was able to win both games in relatively comfortable fashion. The 21-17 scoreline in Stu’s first game probably doesn’t do him much justice as the actual game itself was more comfortable for him than this suggests. I think it is fair to say that Callum was fairly subdued in this game but a mixture of missed strikes and some quality leading from Stu meant that Callum never really had chance to get into this game. Stuart pulled himself into an early lead before Callum started to get back into the game, eventually levelling at 15-15. Stuart upped a gear from here though and his knowledge of past years playing at Woodfield showed. A strong display of first bowls and good seconds put Callum under pressure and Stuart was able to get out 21-17. A good game played in very good spirit. Stuart met Shropshire premier clubmate Jamie Wyer in the qualifying game. Another very strong performance here from Stu meant that Jamie really never even got into the game and had to play some good bowls to earn his 12 chalks in the end. Stuart continued to play a mark that suited him on the day very well. Using a part of the green that was hard to play with the pace of the green, which once again, surprised everyone that turned up on Saturday. Jamie won’t mind me saying that the game was comfortable for Stu as when I saw him on Sunday he himself admitted how well Stuart played in this game. A very solid performance over both games. If he can replicate this on finals day Stuart has a chance to run well. So no pressure then mate!
Clay Flattley (Number 3): Two comfortable performances from the SJB man saw him cruise into the Final Day after a very good display of bowling. Clay’s first game against Ritchie Bate was a convincing win for Clay with a 21-12 scoreline but not for the reasons that you may think. Although Ritchie has been self admittant that he is struggling at the start of this season, Clay just had too much for Ritchie, and played very well. I always seemed to look over and see Clay on the same piece of land so he had clearly found a mark that suited him on the day and he continued to play it very close throughout. Clay pushed himself into a 16-11 lead against Ritchie and with Ritchie only earning himself one more chalk after this, Clay would see himself over the line putting himself into the qualifying game against Dan Bowater. Dan, having just beaten a quality player in Ryan Walters and earned himself the highest break of 12 in the process it would be okay to assume that this game would be very tight, but Clay upped a gear from his previous game and really left Dan with no options here. A very good performance playing the green in a very close fashion would provide Clay with a 21-13 victory and a spot in the final day. Good luck trying to pick a winner from this ever growing field!
Jamie Wyatt (Number 6): Not a lot I can really say about Jay’s performance on Saturday other than that it was very impressive to say the least. A comfortable win in his first game against Birmingham’s Tony Eades followed by a 21-15 victory over 2 time BCGBA All England champion Matt Gilmore. The pace of the green on Saturday suited Jay down to a tee and this showed with some of the quality of bowls that he was able to produce. Jamie’s 21-12 victory over Tony Eades was a mixture of Jay’s greater green knowledge than Tony and both players adapting to the pace of the green. It was a day where you really needed to keep the jack in your hand to have any sort of an idea for a length and Jay used this to his advantage. Jay was able to push himself into a comfortable lead, playing marks that suited his game well while continuing to put Tony under pressure with his second bowls. He was able to hold on to the advantage that he had built at the start of the game before closing it out. Jay’s qualifying game against Matty was as close as it was predicted to be. The 21-15 scoreline doesn’t do the game justice really, it deserved to go all the way. And if it wasn’t for a very good spell of bowling by Jay at the end it probably would have. Matt was consistent in playing a hard mark with the jack on the edge of the top of the green, and playing it well. Putting himself into a 10-3 lead it looked like he was going to cruise through but jay managed to beat a 6 inch bowl right on the edge of the green and started to play well himself. I was very impressed with the way Jay used the green and was able to put Matt under pressure. A very good game to watch which either player could have won. Jay draws number 6 Finals Day and Plays Nick Wyer.
Matt Milsom (Number 10): I may be wrong in my thinking here so apologies to Matt if this is the case but I think it would be fair to say that Matt played significantly better in his qualifying game than he did in the first round against Michael Warrington. I am not inferring that the first game was below par standard was because it wasn’t at all. Both players played the green well but it was always going to be a case of who adapted to the pace and found the green better than their opponent. In this case, it was Matt, and he was able to find a mark that suited him better than Michael, use it to his advantage, and get over line. I don’t have the cards with me at the time of writing this but from watching the game, Matt was able to just start to sneak in front and then keep the advantage in the game. He runs out a 21-13 winner. Matt’s qualifying game against Nathan Dawes was, much like Wyatt v Gilmore, a lot closer than the 21-15 scoreline suggests. Matt really upped his game in the qualifier against Nath. Both players played well and this was a very good game to watch. The game was very even all the way through but towards the end Matt started to lead very well and this put Nathan under pressure with his first bowl, as he was looking at a 2 foot bowl or better for most ends, on marks where this kind of bowl is difficult to beat. A good display from both in again, a game that could have swung in either direction. Matt drew number 10 and plays Lee Johnstone on Finals Day. Another interesting contest.I would like to once again thank the players for all the help I received on Saturday. It was difficult to manage with no club members around so I really do appreciate everything, especially players who lost first game but stuck around to mark cards for me and just generally help out with things.
