Top bowlers in OC

The lawn plays fast, the competition is fierce, and it’s unique --

one of the few sports where a 20-year-old might be going against an

80-year-old.

That’s right, high-quality lawn bowling descended upon Orange

County for the third annual Michael Ashton-Phillips International

Challenge Cup. The event is the brainchild of Sandra Ashton-Phillips,

wife of the late Michael Ashton-Phillips -- a lawn bowling enthusiast

and national competitor.

After Michael passed away, Sandra wanted to carry out Michael’s

goal of bringing the best lawn bowlers in the world to the Newport

Harbor Lawn Bowling Club.

“It was his dream to bring more interest to lawn bowling in

Southern California,” Sandra said. “He wanted local bowlers to be

able to witness a higher level of bowling, but he was never able to

do it. So when he passed away, I wanted to do it for him.”

Sandra was successful in getting the event sanctioned by the World

Bowls Board, which is a prerequisite for attracting the top players

in the world. With the help of Mert Isaacman, player and organizer,

the event was off and running.

Three years ago, four doubles teams -- South Africa, Canada,

England and the U.S. -- competed in the event. This year, eight

doubles teams were on hand, including three from the U.S., two from

Canada, and one each from Great Britain, Ireland and Israel.

A young duo from Canada, 20-year-old Ryan Bester and his

25-year-old brother, Mike Bester, ran away with the tournament title,

going 7-0 in the four-day event, which concluded Friday. Fans

marveled at Ryan’s bowls, which consistently stopped closest to the

white ball, called a “jack.”

Ryan, from Ontario, is the reigning world pairs champion. He won

the World Championships in Scotland last year. This week marked the

first time he’s played with his brother in a major tournament. The

pair edged Israel’s duo of Zvika Vic Hadar and Alex Goldsmith, who

went 5-2.

The keys to the victory? “We won a couple games by one point by

coming through at the end,” Ryan said. “All eight teams here are

world-class teams. We just made some big shots under pressure at the

end of games.”

Ryan, like many bowlers, got involved in the sport through family.

His uncle and grandfather were bowlers and introduced him to a junior

program in Ontario.

He won his first provincial title when he was 15 and hasn’t looked

back. Ryan is the Canadian Under 25 Singles Champion.

Ryan and the rest of the Newport field, including up-and-comer

Tony Baer of the U.S., will now compete in lawn bowling’s national

championships, which take place at several clubs in Orange County and

Long Beach next week, including Newport Harbor.