Arresting triumph for Darren at Open
The policeman from Arbroath earned himself 12,000 by taking the championship following a 13-4, 10-9 victory against Australian qualifier Brett Wilkie at the televised event and becoming the first qualifier for 11 years to win any World Bowls Tour ranking event.
It was a tournament not only of huge quality but also of surprises when Jason Greenslade was the only seed to reach the quarter-finals. To have four unseeded semi-finalists was also unprecedented.
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Hide AdOn his way up to face Wilkie, Burnett (32), an experienced Scotland international, defeated world top-ranker Alex Marshall, Robert Weale and qualifiers Nicky Brett and Richard Morgan.
Wilkie (32) was recently selected for the Australia training squad but went into the tournament feeling jet-lagged and under par after donating bone marrow a week before he left for the tournament. Mid Sussex District Council chairman Cllr Christine Hersey presented the awards.