THE opening round of the Chris Gryllis Real Estate Pairs Classic delivered the match everyone was waiting for.
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Defending champions Bernie Diduszko (Newstead) and Gerard Beath (Cowra) took on last year’s runners-up Dick Love (Avoca) and Phil Westcott (Belrose) in their section six opener.
It was tight from the first end and the two pairs played out an 18-all draw.
Diduszko and Beath overcame their disappointment and went on to win their second match of the day by nine shots over 2009 and 2006 Golden Eagle winners John Matter and David Button.
Orange City’s Paul Ruggiero and and Carlingford’s Garry Cassidy caused an upset in the second match when they edged out Love and Westcott by one shot.
The win meant Ruggiero and Cassidy went through the opening day with two wins after beating Bruce Livingston and Danny Carnervale by two shots in the morning.
Gus Weeks and Kevin Beatty showed they’re ones to watch in section six after winning their opening matches yesterday.
Bathurst’s John Archer and Phil Gray had two healthy wins in section one, downing Newstead’s Anthony Fisher and Martin Rickards by 38 shots in the morning, followed by a 12-shot victory against Ken and Eric Parker.
Experienced campaigners George Ford and Bob Hamilton also celebrated two wins in section one, beating Parkes’ Arthur Corbett and Brett Frame by six shots and then smashing Rickards and Fisher by 35 in the afternoon.
In section two Mick Djatschenko and Steve Galvin were the only ones to get two wins yesterday and will take that momentum into today’s matches.
It was a great introduction to the Golden Eagle for new pairing Joel Diduszko and Bart Sharp of Orange City as they recorded two wins in section three, as did Terrigal’s Roy Rogers and David Limbrick.
Orange City’s Garry Marriage and Mario Ruggiero dominated the opening day’s play in section four with a 20-shot win followed by a 24-shot victory.
Orange pairing Paul David and Greg Campbell were the only duo in section five to have two wins yesterday.
In section seven, Inverell’s Darren Hungerford and Doug Newton were the only pair to celebrate two wins on the opening day.
The Golden Eagle will continue today with the third and fourth sectional matches.
On Wednesday the final sectional matches will be played before the top team in each section, as well as the next best overall pair, will continue into the afternoon’s play-offs.