NEWTOWN’S queen of the greens Marie Todd notched her third big victory of the season on Sunday following a battle royale in the Borders Ladies Bowling Association Championship.

Players from all across the region gathered in a rather rainy Hawick on Saturday for the knock out rounds while finalists were greeted by sunshine on the Ettrick Forest green the following afternoon with four sizzling, hotly contested matches being played out.

Having already beaten Joyce Dickey in the Scottish regional heats and the Champion of Champions final this season, Todd was aiming to take the former Scotland team member down again in the Borders finale. However, things didn’t quite go to plan in the early stages as the Hawick ace played some subliminal bowls to reach 20-14 in a first to 21 showdown.

Sensing she was beat Todd however refused to throw in the towel and dug deep into her reserves to amass an amazing seven shots in just two ends and take a truly deserved win and the 2016 Championship title.

“I don’t quite know how I managed to do it but I did and I’m absolutely delighted,” she told the Border Telegraph after the match.

“I honestly thought I was buried there. Joyce played some great bowls early on and I just couldn’t keep up with her, when she got to 20 I was thinking that was it, I was beat.

“I took a four after that though which really helped pick the momentum up again and I began to think I could chip away at the lead. I wasn’t expecting to do it in one end though and was really pleased with the way I played under that kind of pressure.”

On her way to the final Todd, who travels to Ayr at the end of the month to begin her National Finals campaign, had disposed of players from Buccleuch and Kelso bowling clubs while Gala Waverley and Abbotsford were on Dickey’s hit list.

Victory also went the way of Abbotsford BC on Sunday when Jennifer Darling and Liz Waugh (skip) beat Jedburgh’s Anne Gilfillan and Irene Waters in a closely contested Pairs final. The winning duo saw off a challenge from Kelso on Saturday before surviving an extra end to defeat Wilton in the semi-finals on Sunday. They followed that up by defeating Jed by a narrow two shot margin (14-12).

In the Triples Hawick BC’s Suzanne Spalding, Amanda Lugget and Alison Clarkson (skip) beat May Ogilvie, Carol Davidson and Isabel Macrae from Lauder (16-6) while Pat McCartney, Joan Kyle, Sonya Rodden and Julie Forrest (Wilton BC) took the Fours title over Betty Anderson, Netta Baker, Audrey Kerr and Margaret Aitken from Melrose BC (24-3).

The trophies and medals were presented by Association president Pat Houston from Ettrick Forest BC who thanked host club’s Wilton, Hawick, Buccleuch, Selkirk and Ettrick Forest and all the umpires and markers for their support in this year’s tournament.

“It has been a most successful weekend for the Borders Ladies, the standard of bowling has been excellent and, apart from the weather on Saturday, you couldn’t really ask for anything more,” she added.