In bingo parlance, ‘Kelly’s Eye’ is number one and that was the case at Ballaugh Bowling Club in the Men’s Over-60s Championship last week.
The culimination of the competition saw Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly storm to a third successive title.
With the Ballaugh green looking extremely good on Tuesday, the last eight in the competition saw Alec Taylor (Peel) beat Mike Alexander (Onchan) 21-16, while Bryan Corner (South Ramsey) defeated his clubmate Lee Dawson 21-10.
An epic battle between Steve Parker (Onchan) and Dave McCabe (Finch Hill) ended in a 21-19 win for the latter player.
This left the much-talked about match between Kevin Quirk (Onchan) and Dave Kelly (Peel), with both playing some great bowls but eventually the Peel man was just too strong as he took a 21-11 win.
In the semi-finals there was an intriguing battle between Bryan Corner and Alec Taylor, with the former doing well on longer marks and the latter preferring the shorter ones. This match ended with Taylor keeping his calm under pressure to win 21-19.
The other semi saw Dave McCabe valiantly attempting to split the green and prevent his opponent getting into the corners, but Barney Kelly was able to take control and win 21-11.
The final between Peel Sunset clubmates Kelly and Taylor saw the former put on a masterclass in bowling to take a 21-3 win despite his opponent playing some great bowls.
The presentation was introduced by over-60s bowling chairman Norman Kneen who thanked Ballaugh for being wonderful hosts of the competition and also the Ballaugh members for measuring and their women for the wonderful catering provided.
He also thanked Andy Kennish and John Ryder for their help and competitions secretary Mark Kelly for his hard work.
The latter then presented the trophies and, upon receiving his, Kelly also thanked Ballaugh for their hospitality and great condition of the green.
NORMAN KNEEN