A team from Victoria won the open triples tournament at the 95th Weston Men’s Open Bowls Tournament held at Clarence Park.

The 95th Weston Men’s Open Bowls Tournament, sponsored by Optika, began at Clarence Park with a triumph for a local team.

Father and son Mike and Lee Stocker, partnered by Alan Yates, all from Victoria, won the open triples competition in the closest of finishes.

In steady rain, they were behind throughout against host club Clarence’s greens manager Richard Crawford, his assistant Gerald Barlow and Southampton’s Ron Akhurst, a long-time supporter of the tournament.

Going into the last end, Stocker and co were three shots behind, but Mike’s final wood earned them a certain three before umpire Pete Shepherd’s measure made it four for victory and the £300 first prize.

Victoria were also involved in the third/fourth place final, through Pete Wyatt, Dave Fairhurst and Paul Leadbeater, the only team among the four finalists to have dropped a point in the group games.

They faced promising Banwell brothers Liam and Ryan Smith, who were skipped by more experienced clubmate Darrell Johnston. The Banwell trio always held the upper hand and ran out 10-3 winners, to the delight of their grandmother Mo Millard, who had also been playing in the triples.

Weston’s Mayor Cllr Alan Peak bowled the first wood in the tournament, which continues until Saturday with singles, pairs, mixed pairs and triples competitions.