LOCAL clubs Royal Wootton Bassett and Westlecot dominate the 24 entrants in the men’s national championship quarter-finals and semi-finals being staged on Sunday at Devizes in singles, junior singles, two-wood singles, O55 fours, pairs and junior pairs.

Bassett supply 10 of the contestants, Westlecot five, while Holt have four, Avon and Salisbury two each, with Wilton having a sole representative.

Over the past eight days, the last 16 stages of the singles were held at Westlecot and Holt, and the quarter-finals at Royal Wootton Bassett.

They produced a couple of tight finishes and a few shocks.

Bassett’s Craig Hatherall edged home 21-20 against Adam Bolwell (Spencer Moulton) in the last 16, while Avon’s Tom Newman was pushed hard by James Nobbs (Bassett) before winning 21-18.

The biggest surprise was the 21-11 defeat for Bassett’s Neil Smith at the hands of club-mate Craig Morphet, although he could not reproduce the same form in the quarter-finals on his home green as he lost 21-12 to Bassett colleague Dave Godwin.

Graham Hatherall (Bassett) was involved in tense scrap with Tom Newman (Avon), eventually losing 21-20 on the final end.

In the other two quarter-finals, there were comfortable victories for Craig Hatherall (Bassett) 21-13 over Russell Francis (Spencer Moulton), and Wayne Snook (Holt) 21-14 against Chippenham Town’s Jeremy Haseltine.

The men’s junior singles has thrown up a couple of interesting ties. Westlecot’s Mike Titcombe faces Bassett’s Craig Morphet, who he beat in the U25 regional indoor final early this year on his way to the indoor national championships at City of Ely IBC.

And Tom Newman (Avon) and Craig Hatherall (Bassett), who are through to the main singles semi-finals but are kept apart in the draw, meet in the U25 junior semi-finals.

Last year’s winners and national O55 Fours champions, the Bassett foursome of Barry Sictorness, Terry Walton, Chris Cheesley and skip Mel Biggs, are back to defend their title. They face Westlecot quartet John Anderson, Paul Kistle, Brian Whittingham and skip Ian Jefferies.

In the other semi-final, a Holt side led by Malcolm Barker meet another Bassett quartet led by Graham Richards.

The quarter and semi-final in the men’s two-wood singles will also be held at Devizes and feature three Bassett players, Neil Smith, Craig Morphet and Craig Hatherall, plus two from Westlecot, Mark Richman and John Thomas, as well as Holt’s Wayne Snook and Salisbury’s Tom Warner and Wilton’s Mike Crane.