Kerkow faces nervous wait to break 11 year drought
Kelvin Kerkow faces a sleepless night to find out whether he has achieved the seemingly impossible. Kelvin Kerkow OAM is one of the most widely decorated individuals in the sport of bowls, but there’s one feat that not even he has achieved; an accomplishment so seemingly impossible that it has escaped him for over a decade.
The accomplishment in question – progressing past the first day an Australian Open discipline.
And today, he came close.
So close that he could almost taste it, but then he came up against 26 year-old Jared Hamilton from NSW’s Dapto Citizens in his third sectional bout at Club Helensvale, with both on an unblemished two victories, and his hopes began to fade.
There isn’t much Kerkow hasn’t done or won on the national circuit or international stage – they even awarded him a Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to the sport – but the Australian Open had never been a happy hunting ground for the Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
Bowl after bowl, shot after shot, the likelihood of Kerkow advancing with an untarnished record narrowed.
It was Hamilton who came away with the result once the dust had settled, by a slender 1 shot, resigning Kerkow to the hopes of securing one of the 40 remaining next best qualifier positions.
His chances are good, due to his comprehensive two wins, his shot differential sits on an admirable +26.
Last year, +17 was enough to earn a place.
He will need to wait until the conclusion of the remaining men’s singles sectional rounds tomorrow before he learns his fate.
Kerkow is in illustrious company with players waiting to learn if they are a next-best-qualifier, including former world number ones Safuan Said, from Malaysia, and Leif Selby, from Warilla.
Said is likely to advance, but not guaranteed, on +25, and Selby less likely on only +13.
As predicted, many of the high-profile players made light work of the three sectional games, including Commonwealth Games gold medallist Wayne Turley, who was on the verge of having to pull out of the competition this morning.
Despite an unspecified foot injury, Turley soldiered through his Broadbeach encounters and eased his way into the knockout fixtures.
2014 Australian Open champion Nathan Wilson was another who escaped the sectional battle, and joined his brother Aaron, who won in 2013, after he progressed yesterday.
The New Zealand continent were out in full force today, including Tweed Head’s Paul Girdler and his Blackjacks teammates Ali Forsyth and Mike Nagy, and former representatives Justin Goodwin, and Gary Lawson, all going through to the next stage.
Australian Premier League stars Max Kleinig, from the Adelaide Endurance and Robbie Wild, from Brisbane Gold, dropped two rubbers and must now pin their hopes on the pairs and fours disciplines.
The final men’s sectional matches will be staged tomorrow, with the women’s singles also getting underway across the Gold Coast.
Click here to view the sectional results of the men’s singles.
