REIGNING champion Scott Edwards retained his Bourne-mouth Open singles crown with an emphatic 21-4 win over Dorchester’s Wayne Garnett.

The Hove and Kingsway bowler pocketed £1500 and received the Melbourne Cup from the Mayor of Bournemouth councillor Chris Rochester.

Edwards was in devastating form and took control after collecting 12 shots between the fifth and ninth ends.

In the semi-final, Edwards defeated Boscombe Cliff representative Mike Squires 21-13.

A late show from Chris Blake and Chris Wright (Barry Athletic) clinched the Earnest Dean Challenge Cup in an all Welsh pairs final against the father and son combination of John (Gelli Park) and Mark Thomas (Ystradfechan).

The Barry duo won the last two ends to claim a narrow 21-20 success and cheque for £500 from sponsor Sara Uzell of Bowlaway.

Both pairs had relatively easy wins in the semi-finals. The Thomas pair accounted for local bowlers Dave Hart and Deric Pritchard (Knyveton Gardens) with 26-12 win, while Blake and Wright toppled Alexandra Park pairing Alan Trevett and Dave Baxter 25-12.

In the triples final, holders Chris Daniels, Alan Geary and Michael Hutley ( Boscombe Cliff) lost their title when they lost 18-15 against Jersey boys Derek Boswell, Cyril Renouf and Alan Shaw who won the Ivor Challenge Bowl and £300 prize money.

The mixed pairs final proved to be the closest of the day’s finals. The lead was forever changing as husband and wife Stephen and Caroline Richardson (Dalbeattie) found themselves in opposition.

Stephen’s partner was local bowler Sylvia Postill (Richmond Park), while Caroline teamed up with Gareth Burbridge (Worcester).

Burbridge needed to kill the last end to survive, but the jack just stayed in play after he had blasted it into the ditch, resulting in a 19-15 win for Sylvia Postill and Stephen Richardson, who were presented with the James King Challenge Vase and a cheque for £250.

In the semi-finals, Carol Richardson and Gareth Burbridge were trailing 17-11 to local bowlers Julia Eatwell (Poole Park) and Alan Geary (Boscombe Cliff) but recovered to win 18-17 after winning the last six ends.

Julia Postill and Stephen Richardson had a less traumatic experience when defeating the local husband and wife partnership of Kris and Kevin Saunders 28-13.

The ladies tournament, based at Moordown, resulted in further disappointment for Poole Park’s Kris Saunders.

Kris along with Bobby Saunders and Gill Rice lost 21-11 in the triples final to Jennifer Asten, Louise Wood (Sutton) and Anne Coward (Cheam Ladies), who collected the winners’ cheque for £150.

Last year’s pairs champion Bridget Cresswell (Broadway) teamed up this year with Poole Park’s Penny Cresswell to maintain her title with a 25-23 win over Virginia Smith (Sutton) and Linda Thorogood (Ember).

Marion Smedley (Rosedale) pocketed the £400 first prize after winning the singles final 23-15 against Aileen Perks (Chester Road).