17 year old Ryan Fox of Halvergate won the Bure Singles Championship title at the first attempt in the final hosted by Windows SMBC. Robert Howlett of East Tuddenham was his opponent in the final but suffered the same fate as the previous evening when he was defeated in the Bure Triples Final. Throughout the evening Ryan Fox, currently ESMBA Under 18’s Champion, proved the most consistent bowler in the hall putting his opponents under intense pressure. In the final he took a single on the first end drawing in a great last bowl to take a 1-0 lead. On the second end he played a great forehand forcing bowl that left him holding two shots and Robert Howlett could not retrieve the situation with his last bowl of the end. Fox kept up the pressure on the next end, drawing a toucher with his opening bowl, which held shot until the Howlett’s last bowl of the end which was a good backhand that took shot and got him on the scorecard with a single. On the fourth end Howlett set a much longer jack than Fox had been doing but dropped short with his first wood while Ryan Fox drew in a good bowl just beyond the jack. With Fox in control of the end Howlett elected to use weight with his final bowl but went too wide and Fox increased his lead to 5-1. Another single followed on the next end and on the sixth end Howlett was in trouble again. Once more he resorted to weight with his final wood of the end, and managed to cut Fox down to another single, but the score was now 7-1 to the Halvergate bowler and Howlett faced a mountain to climb just as he had faced the night before in the triples final. Robert Howlett raised his game on the seventh end and made a much better start eventually taking two shots off Fox. Another single to Howlett followed on the eighth end and Fox’s lead had now been reduced to 7-4 with two ends remaining. Howlett opened the penultimate end with a nice forehand draw, but Fox immediately countered with a toucher before Howlett retook shot with his second bowl of the end. It proved to be a great end of bowls, with both players hitting top form, and Fox was forced to attack with his final bowl that cut Howlett to just a single. That left the score at 7-5 to Ryan Fox with one end remaining. Robert Howlett, perhaps trying too hard, was too wide with his first bowl and too tight with his second while Ryan Fox drew in two bowls. Howlett then used weight to shoot the jack into the ditch to hold shot. Fox went too wide and off the side with his third wood leaving Howlett with the chance to draw in a second wood to force an extra end. Unfortunately for Howlett he failed to reach with his last wood leaving Fox in a championship holding position. Surprisingly he still elected to play his last wood but did not alter the situation and he had won the final by 7-6. In the quarter-finals Ryan Fox beat Hevingham’s David Sharpe by 12-7. Robert Howlett beat Halvergate’s Jason Woods by 10-9, Howlett had trailed throughout and went into the last end 9-7 down but drew in three lovely woods on the last end to reach the semi-finals. Halvergate’s Robbie Lamb beat East Tuddenham’s Melvin Woods by 10-7 and Hevingham’s Steve Hall beat Halvergate’s David Lamb 9-6. David Lamb’s run of reaching four successive Bure Singles Finals came to an end as he failed to find the weight of the mat playing too many short bowls. In the semi-finals Ryan Fox proved too hot for Steve Hall to handle as he reached the final with a 14-8 win. Robert Howlett beat Robbie Lamb in the other semi-final beating Robbie Lamb 12-5 with an end to spare.
Ryan Fox - Bure Singles Champion 2020
Robert Howlett - Bure Singles Runner-up