HAWICK bowls ace Julie Forrest regained her Scottish indoor bowling singles title at Falkirk on Sunday when she defeated Michelle Cooper in the final, writes Fiona Scott.
Both played many good drawing bowls, but the turning point came when Cooper was 7-3 up and lying three shots. Forrest decided to fire, taking out her opponent’s three bowls to lie shot herself.
Forrest, sponsored by her hometown club Teviotdale, never looked back and eventually won 21-10 to take her sixth Scottish singles title.
En route to the final she beat Kaye Cullinan (Headwell), Gail Lindores (Tweedbank) and Julie Sword (East Fife).
In a dramatic quarter-final, Forrest recovered from a 14-12 deficit by achieving a full house of four shots on the way to securing a 21-15 success over former world champion Margaret Letham. She then overcame Balbardie’s Sharon Leitch 21-10 at the semi-final stage.
“I normally play better at other carpets,” revealed Forrest, adding: “I’ve played at Falkirk already this season and did well, so I was quite confident last weekend.”
The 44-year-old won the title for the first time in 2002 and then chalked up her second triumph in 2004. After a five-year gulf, she hit back with a vengeance, winning the crown in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
In March, Forrest will win her 50th cap for Scotland when she skippers the national team in the home nations tournament at Stanley, near Newcastle.