29th January 2010
Howard Harding

No fewer than eight former champions will be bidding to add their names again to the Gravells Welsh International Open trophy when the final ranking event of the World Bowls Tour season gets underway tomorrow (Saturday) at the City and County of Swansea Indoor Bowls Club in Swansea.

The 2010 Welsh International Open, sponsored for the second year by leading Welsh car dealership Gravells, will feature the top 16 bowlers in the world, joined by qualifiers from Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel and New Zealand.  The championship, from 30 January to 5 February, will also boast live coverage by BBC TV Wales.

Leading Welsh interest in the event will be seventh seed Jason Greenslade, the 39-year-old world No6 from Pontypridd who won the title in 2006 after first reaching the final in 1999. 

Despite winning the World title in 2000, fellow Welshman Robert Weale has yet to add the Welsh International trophy to his impressive CV.  The world No9 from Hereford, who partners Greenslade in the World Pairs championship, will be hoping that it will be fourth time lucky this year after reaching the final in 2002, 2005 and 2007.

Leading the hunt this time is Robert Chisholm, the 24-year-old from Newcastle-upon-Tyne who won the title last year in his maiden appearance in the event as a qualifier.  Top seed Chisholm lines up against Australian qualifier Gerard Beath as he bids to repeat the historic success which earned him the Young Player of the Year award at last week's World Bowls Tour Awards in Norfolk.

The man in form, however, is England's Greg Harlow, the 41-year-old from Ely in Cambridgeshire who won the Potters Holidays World Indoor Singles title last week to become world champion for the first time.  Fourth seed Harlow will be hoping to wind back the clock by taking the trophy for the first time since winning it two years in a row in 1999 and 2000.

But one man perhaps deserving of the title more than any other is Englishman Andy Thomson.  A former world number one and two-time world champion, Thomson has appeared in every event since 1996.  Runner-up in 2000 and 2004, the Londoner will be hoping that his 15th successive appearance will result in his maiden title triumph!