Another year underway and another Irish Open Championships has come and gone. This year’s event once again saw some of Ireland and Europe’s top bowlers descend on Dublin, as well as a couple from the United States.
As always there was a sense of anticipation and excitement amongst bowlers as the tournament approached, and as Friday morning begun and progressed the usual exciting atmosphere gripped Stillorgan Leisureplex.
Many had come out to see defending champion Dominic Barrett from England. The current European number one was in fine form coming into the tournament, after victory at the AIK event in Stockholm in the just ten days before the Irish Open began.
And the man from Colchester did not disappoint, getting into his stride early with a first round average of 234.75 for the opening eight games. However, it was Ireland’s World Cup representative Stephen O’Connor who set the early pace, shooting a 236.88 average. Barrett was second, with England’s Stu Little sitting third after a 226.5 average. Irishmen Graham Turner, Simon English and Alan Gibbons all sat well in contention in the top ten after round one.
Day Two was a long one for many competitors, especially those right at the top of the order. After three men form the desperado squad joined the top 61 in round two, four more games cut the field down to 32 players. Barrett had quickly taken control of a tournament which he has come to call his own in recent years, now commanding a 150-pin lead over Stu Little.
Round One leader O’Connor had fallen back to fourth place, with the biggest mover of round two being Gibbons, after jumping from tenth spot to third. England’s Lee Chatfield, Scotland’s Stephen Gill and Norway’s Erik Garder had all moved into the top ten.
Saturday trudged on with Round Three, not that those who had come to watch day two were feeling weary of the action. The top 32 saw the continuation of the increasing standard of scoring, which had jumped severely from the early low scores. Barrett was really stamping his mark on the crown by this stage, his 260-pin lead meaning that in all truth the tournament was becoming a race for second for those who made the cut for the top 16 round four.
There was little change behind Barrett in round three. Most of those sitting in the top 16 spots before the start of the round held their ground to qualify for round four, though Alan Gibbons continued his climb up the table to now occupy second spot.
Sunday morning came almost before people could remember where the previous two days had gone. The final was almost upon us, but there was the little matter of round four and the battle for the top 8 spots in the round robin. All hope of catching Barrett for the crown was now long gone, but four Irish competitors made the top 8 cut and kept themselves in the race for a top three finish. Gibbons was in pole position to take second, but Irish compatriot Graham Turner and Englishman Matt Hann were still pushing hard to overthrow him.
The Round Robin saw the four Irish competitors finish up in the top six. Gibbons took second spot, but Turner was pipped to third by Hann. Elsewhere Alan Bride finished fifth, with early leader O’Connor finishing sixth. Stu Little took seventh with Norwegian Fredrik Finstad bringing up the tail of the final in eighth.
But the tournament was all about the stunning brilliance of Barrett. Not only has he now won the tournament three times in four years, he is the first person ever to win back-to-back titles. And with his massive victory this year, there is little to think that he will not continue to dominate Ireland’s premier bowling tournament in the future.
Barrett’s domination of the men’s section was mirrored in the women’s section by his girlfriend Cassie Staudinger. The Australian lead the tournament from the beginning, and eventually took the crown by almost 400 pins, the biggest margin of victory ever in the Irish Open Championships. And if her boyfriend is anything to go by, this may not be the last time she takes the crown on these shores.
Once again the tournament was a hugely enjoyable experience. Personally for me it is the most anticipated weekend of the year, and unfortunately it always seems to end before it has seemed to start. Another year, another great Irish Open Championships. Here’s to hoping the tournament survives another year for 2012. Personally I cannot imagine an Irish bowling calendar without it.
