After the opening day of the 2017 City of Orange Golden Eagle Classic Pairs, a number of previous champions have once again announced themselves as contenders.
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None more so than the composite team of Molong’s Bob Hamilton and Gulgong’s John Mobbs.
Hamilton won the 2010 and 2012 Eagles titles with George Ford, however the latter was unable to play this year so the former linked with Mobbs, who claimed the 2001 title with Tony Tuckerman.
They won emphatically in the first round on Monday morning and while all of the second round games were still in progress at time of print, Hamilton and Mobbs were firmly in the box seat there too.
Hamilton and Mobbs took care of Blayney’s Ron Stinson and Phil Smith, winning by 30 shots, and were leading Orange City’s Glenn and Neville Seton 18-12 through 16 ends.
The reigning champions – father and son duo Warren and Jared Hamilton – were also faring well, winning their opening round by 11 shots. Competing in section six, they faced section seven’s Joel Diduszko and Paul Gonzales.
They were in the box seat of their second round fixture against Geoff Holt and Pedro Rudd too, although it was tight.
The reigning champions were leading 14-12 through 16 ends.
The biggest result of the day came out of section six as well.
Three-time champions Bernie Diduszko and Gerard Beath were set to compete once again, however the latter was forced to withdraw, so the former linked with Molong’s Steve Shannon.
The duo was expected to do well regardless, but will need to work hard to resurrect their campaign after suffering a stunning first round upset at the hands of Bob Edgar and Dave Hearns. It was a thriller too, with just one shot the difference.
The other big upset of the opening round was in section three.
Always competitive, Molong’s David Limbrick and Roy Rogers were handed a 12-shot defeat by Orange City’s Adam Simpson and John Wilkons.
Garry Cassidy and Don McFarlane scored a big win in section one, winning by 12 shots.
Tuesday’s second day kicks off with the third round at 8.45am, the fourth round starts at 1.30pm after lunch.