BOB Hamilton and George Ford beat David Button and Jeff Matters yesterday at Orange City Bowling Club to ensure the defending champions’ bid for back-to-back Chris Gryllis Real Estate Golden Eagle Pairs Classic started poorly.

The 2009 winners from Forbes opened their 2010 classic with three-shot loss to Hamilton and Ford.

Button and Matters recovered yesterday afternoon after two brief rain delays to defeat Streaky Bay duo Graham Fiebig and Rob Stephens by five shots in section five.

Section one of the $13,000 pairs tournament was the most competitive of the seven sections on day one yesterday, with a draw between Lee Hetherington and Gus Weekes and John Corcoran and Eddie McPhee epitomising the closeness.

Barry Duffy and Peter Naylor lead the section as the only pair to record two wins on the opening day, although both victories were by just two shots.

Last year’s runners-up, Tom Nathan and Brad Franklin started the week strongly with two wins and they, along with fellow North Sydney pair Gerard Kebourian and Tony Taylor, remain undefeated.

In section three, Bruce Williams and John Mobbs made an emphatic start to the four-day tournament recording two big wins, while Dick Love and Phil Westcott recorded a massive 32-shot victory first up.

Halekulani pair Jeff Wade and Neil Dell opened with two wins in section four, while two pairings remain undefeated in section six.

And in section seven, Steve Carr and Graham Irons and a Wentworth Falls pair featuring skip Kevin Fitzpatrick recorded big victories to make their intentions clear.

Carr and Irons scored a 46-shot win in their second game yesterday to lead section seven.

Each pair will again play two games today at Orange City Bowling Club, with play commencing at 9am.