SHEARD AND STURGESS TAKE PAIRS CROWN
AT BOURNEMOUTH 2005
80 pairs contested the British Open Pairs held at The Queens Hotel East Cliff Bournemouth over the weekend of 12th 13th of March. After being in 4 previous finals Keith Sheard Oxon and partner Ray Sturgess came out on top at the end of the day.
Sheard and Sturgess started out with a 2nd round win against K.Cross and S.Storch Oxon they then faced another Oxon pair and came from 7,000 down against Jon Bamsey and Tony Willis to take victory 12,400 to 10,090. Sunday started with a 10 – 30am shoot out against yet another Oxon pair in 3 times winners Pete Farrelly and Steve Biggs, Farrelly knocked in a 10,340 break to lead the first leg 11,630 to 3,130. Sheard replied in the second with a 15,210 effort to take the game 18,340 to 14,130 to see them into the quarterfinals.
Yet another Oxon player faced Sheard and Sturgess as this time Dennis Atkins who had teamed up with Surrey player Geoff Jukes failed to stop them with Sturgess hitting the big break 12,970 to take the 1st leg. Victory for the Oxfordshire pair 16,220 to 6,550. The semi final saw Berkshires PaulYeo and playing partner All England Chairman Keith Lewendon standing in the way of the Oxfordshire pair. The four-leg semi was Sturgess’s swan song as he hit 8,340 in the first leg and 10,240 in the second and with partner Sheard scoring 8,620 in the third the Berkshire players conceded the game being over 28,000 down.
Two 1st time entrants from Sussex Lauren Beales and Dave Hampton started out against a late pair also from Sussex P.Mills and P.Heaver winning 5,690 to 2,000.
The 3rd round saw them face Buckinghamshire pair T.Hearne and J.Smith easing past them with 11,320 to 1,230 to move forward to Sunday morning to face Hampshire pair Dave Rowley and Alan Chaloner a close game saw them victories with a 7,640 to 6,860 win and a quarter final place against the Sussex pairing of new tournament director Nigel Senior and Richard Wooton, leading by just 100 they moved ahead in the second to take the second leg by 5,320 and a win by 9,130 to 3,710 and a semi final place.
The semi final saw Buckinghamshire’s Mervin Yearwood and Sylve Murphy taking the first leg 7,920 to 1,440 but the Sussex pair hit back in the next three legs with scores of 10,790, 7,250 and 7,400 to take victory and a place in the final.
Sheard made sure that this was going to be his year as the first leg was won with 9,220 to 910, the second was won 11,700 to 1,260 and with scores at 3,420 to 1,350 in the third the game was conceded giving Sheard and Sturgess the title.
Not many shocks in the 1st and 2nd rounds of the main competition left the Plate a very open event at the top of the draw Ray Hussey and Andy Godden Buckinghamshire stood out after going out to Senior and Wooton. They faced Sue Haberman and T.Smith winning 10,110 to 1,420 to move into the next round.
Mathew Thomson and Jason Dunkley Northants lost out 3,880 to 7,950 as the Bucks men remained on course. A close game in the quarter final saw them beat Sussex’s Sam Baden and M.Spiers 2,340 and 3,610. The semi final saw them 5,300 down in the 1st leg to Berkshires Ron Cox and Tim Lucas but an 11,000 break from Hussey in the second saw them home to face Alan Brackenridge and Jean Over in the final, they had lost out to Dave Mitchell and Bill Gosling (who replaced Eric Hill and Phil Hawkins who’s eye operation had not healed up yet) in the 1st round of the main competition. Brackenridge and Over beat A.Brewster and C.Retfalui Sussex 3,300 to 1,670 to reach the next round to face Northants pair S. and B. Foster 3,470 to 10,640.
Brackenridge and Over moved into overdrive as they beat M. and K. Loakes Sussex 15,130 to 1,020 to reach the quarterfinals they faced the Oxfordshire pair of K.Murphy and Lorin Clough who fell by the way side 4,080 to 11,960.
The semi final saw them face Berkshires Brian Dawkins and Mick Gibbons who found the Sussex pair in good form scoring 5,000 plus in both legs winning 10,890 to 4,610.
The final was played on a reset table as they had both played on the other tables and this proved more to Hussey and Goddens liking winning with 11,870 to Brackenridge and Overs 3,710.
Blue Mermaid Hotels Group Neal Lewis presented the Trophy’s
Merit Award Sponsored by Dave Barnes A.E.B.B.A. Secretary awarded to Janet and Andy Burns Berkshire for Janet’s 7,050 break.
Queens Hotel Plate: - Runner up A.Brackenridge and J.Over Sussex Trophy and £20 each.
Winners: - R.Hussey and A.Godden Buckinghamshire Trophy £25 each
British Open Pairs 2005
Losing semi finalists: - M.Yearwood and S.Murphy Buckinghamshire, P.Yeo and K.Lewendon Berkshire Trophy and £25 each
Runners Up: - L.Beales and D.Hampton Sussex Trophy and £75 each
Winners: - K.Sheard and R.Sturgess Oxfordshire Trophy Weekend break for two at the Queens Hotel and £75 each.