A pair of former back-to-back champions and a father-son combination have put their names on Bathurst's prestigious Carillon City Fours trophy, but not before being pushed to their limit over the weekend.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ettalong's Phil Westcott and Belconnen's Richard Lawson joined forces again to add to their 2012 and 2013 victories at the Bathurst City Bowling Club while the father-son pairing of Penrith's Ian Whalan and St John's Park's Tim Whalan became first time champions of the $10,000 tournament.
Victory at the tournament requires wins in all five games across Saturday and Sunday, and on two occasions the Westcott-skippered team only narrowly got across the line, before ultimately taking the title Orange City claimed last year.
But that's what the great teams do, they thrive in pressure-cooker situations and they know what it takes the get through even the most challenging of situations.
Westcott said big challenges were thrown down by opponents over the two days.
"We played the local champs, featuring the club president, and they've won the [Carillion City Fours] on a number of occasions. Everyone played well in that game but we came away with a good win," he said.
"The next game we only won by about 10 or so but it was always fairly comfortable.
"The third game we played another local team, when it was very windy on Saturday afternoon, and we only just managed to get up by two shots.
"This morning we had a reasonably comfortable before we played a strong team from Cabra-Vale.
"Brent Norman, who's won various state titles, was in that team and we got home with another two point win."
Westcott and Tim Whalan have enjoyed what has been nothing short of an outstanding year of bowls as a duo, tasting success across a number of competitions throughout the year and the skip was pleased to end a dominant 2019 on a high note.
"Tim and I together have won our last 23 tournaments together, so that's a great record," he said.
"Last year (we) won five events but came third here in Bathurst."
The Carillon City Bowls tournament had been penned in early on the calendar for both Westcott and Whalan after their close call in 2018 and, together with Lawson and Ian Whalan, they proved a formidable group.
Westcott said the Bathurst City Bowling Club event is always one worth being excited for.
"I really like supporting the community here in Bathurst," he said.
"It's their big tournament and a great money raiser for them, and it's lovely being somewhere with four greens where they can get over 200 bowlers here.
"Being the last tournament of the year it's kind of like a Christmas party and you get to see a lot of old faces you haven't seen for a while. The camaraderie is excellent."
The winning players received $1,000 each.
DO YOU WANT MORE ORANGE NEWS AND SPORT?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below ...