Only one match has been played so far this morning in the 17th Speight’s Invitation 2-4-2 Pairs before the rain returned to Wellington. Players are enjoying the Victoria hospitality and will shortly be tucking into lunch while we wait for the rain to abate. There will likely be two shorter matches this afternoon to complete section play by the evening.
There were many early upsets in the first round with Alvin Gardiner (Canterbury) and Robbie Bennett (Johnsonville) going down to the father and son Coleman combination (Jamie is Victoria, and Wayne is Island Bay) who were a late entry in the tournament.
Section 3 maybe the section of death with Shannon McIlroy (Nelson) and tournament controller Lou Newman (Victoria) going down by one shot to Roy Gibb (Victoria) and Kevin Gutschlag (Petone Central), and last year’s champions Grant Wakefield and AJ Cronin (Johnsonville) also lost by five shots to former World Champion Andy Curtain (Canterbury) and Gary Ruane (Victoria).
In section 7 Raika Gregory (Waikato) and Laurie Guy (Victoria) were upset by former Manawatu player Ray Lovie (Eastbourne) and Scott McGavin (Manawatu), and in section 8 Shayne Sincock (Canterbury) and Mike Carroll (Eastbourne) went down to Dan O’Leary and Peter Wilson (Dunedin) while Shane McGonagle and Phil Robottom (Ranfurly Shield country) lost to another father and son pairing Tim and Peter Toomey (Victoria).
A full update of results is available on the Invitation 2-4-2 Pairs page.