Ryder Cup fever was evident last Saturday as 75 bowlers from Northern Zone clubs gathered to compete in the annual contest between Newcastle Bowling Club and the ‘Rest’.

In their quest to recapture the trophy, the Rest started well, narrowly winning five of the nine fours games to take a four-point lead after the first round.

Newcastle players then rose to the challenge, winning eight of the 12 trips games to surge into a 20-point lead at 115–95. The final session of pairs was set to be the decider, and despite their best efforts, the Rest teams could not overtake the determined home side, losing this last session by seven games to 11.

Newcastle Bowling Club therefore retained the Ryder Cup, winning by 215 points to 195, much to the delight of home players and spectators.

The year-end prize-giving followed with a dinner, where Zone chairman Dougie Slabbert presented trophies to the winners and runners-up of all Northern Zone and KZNCB tournaments.

The final highlights were the presentation of the Ryder Cup trophy to Newcastle Club president Bennie van Vuuren, and the ladies’ and men’s player of the year titles to Elsie de Jager of Dundee and John Douthwaite of Newcastle respectively.

KZNCB president Greg Conolly complimented everyone on the spirit in which the games were played and encouraged all present to keep working on their games to once again make the Northern Zone a force to be reckoned with.

The season will come to an end with the annual turkey competition on December 16, where players are encouraged to dress in Christmas outfits.

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