Defending champion and four-times Golden Nugget winner Kelvin Kerkow is “Going for Gold” in the Golden Nugget at Tweed Heads Bowls Club from August 6 to 9.
However the bowler they call Spike faces top opposition from the star studded men’s field of Australia’s top bowlers.
This year’s competitors including 2012 Australian Open Singles winner Mark Casey, and 2011 Golden Nugget runner-up and recalled Australian representative Leif Selby.
Organiser Greg Kelly believes this is one of the best fields ever invited to play in the Nugget.
“Now in its 26th year, this has been one of my toughest assignments as Bowls Coordinator, and a member of the Tournament committee to select 11 men and 11 ladies to play in this prestige singles event,” he said.
Chairman of Tweed Heads Bowls Club Mr Peter Howell commented “this is truly a magnificent field”.
Four previous winners are included in the men’s field Kerkow (1994, 1997, 2008, and 2011), Steve Glasson, (1995, 1997, and 2009), Nathan Rice (2006), and Brett Wilkie (2010).
In the ladies’ field, New Zealand’s defending champion Jo Edwards won this event in 2009 and 2011, while Karen Murphy would love to add to her total of five wins.
Surprisingly Murphy’s last win was back in 2003 with previous wins in, 1996, 1997, 1999, and 2001.
Carmen Anderson has won the event twice, in 2008 and 2010. Both times defeating Murphy in the final.
Australian Captain Lynsey Armitage won her only Golden Nugget title in 2006 and as the current 2012 Australian Open singles winner, and will be one of the favourites to add to her success this year.
Jo Edwards is also up against the odds as only one Ladies Champion (Karen Murphy) has reached the final in the following year, but World Champion Edwards will start as favourite of the event.
Making their debuts is 2011 Australian Open Singles runner up, and current New Zealand Black Jack Shannon McIlroy, and Western Australia’s current Australian Under 25 representative Kristina Krstic.
The 2012 Golden Nugget Invitation Prestige Singles proudly sponsored by Henselite Australia Pty Ltd is the “Jewel in the Crown” of tournaments in Australia held at the Tweed Heads Bowls Club, and begins on Monday 6th August with an Opening Ceremony at 11.15 am followed by round 1 at 1.00 pm. 2 rounds each on Tuesday and Wednesday before the semi-finals and finals on Thursday, August 9.
THBC will again broadcast an up-to-date live scoreboard each day – each match and each end on the tournament web site www.goldennugget.com.au which also has information and profiles of the 2012 field.
