Congratulations to Hayley May for being part of a historic weekend for women in the New Zealand Professional Bowls Association last weekend. Not only did Linda Ralph (Auckland) become the first women to win a qualifying tournament in this country when she overcame a strong field in Pukekohe, but three of the four semifinalists in Hastings were female including Hayley. This was Hayley’s first bowls this winter and she came through two very tight tiebreaker matches against strong opposition in Tony Terry (Hawke’s Bay) and Terry Johnson (Manawatu) before falling to local rookie Natarsha Grimshaw in the semifinal. This was Hayley’s first semifinal appearance in PBA having made quarterfinals in pairs in 2007 and singles in 2009.
Richard Corry lost in the quarterfinals to Dale Rayner (Johnsonville).