IN THE sweltering heat at the Borough of Eye Bowls Club Mark Royal of the Rookery Bowls Club became the Suffolk County Singles champions for the second time when he defeated 2004 champion Mark Todd.

IN THE sweltering heat at the Borough of Eye Bowls Club Mark Royal of the Rookery Bowls Club became the Suffolk County Singles champions for the second time when he defeated 2004 champion Mark Todd.

The early exchanges proved even with Royal holding a slender 5-4 lead after seven ends. Over the next seven ends Royal scored seven shots to Todd's two to extend his lead. Although Todd pulled back the deficit to three shots over the next two ends it was Royal who finished the stronger, restricting Todd to just two more shots to win 21-11.

In the pairs the Felixstowe & Suffolk pair of Andy Meikle and Adrian Holden captured the title they last one in 2001 with a comfortable win over the Ipswich Bowls Club pairing of Steve Miller and Kelvyn Earthroll. Level after 12 ends, the 13th end saw Meikle and Holden score four and from then on they never looked back to win 22-9.

Sudbury captured the Fours title when Lee Rowland, Eric Moule, G. Smith and Graham Rowland overcame the challenge of the Halesworth quartet of Nigel Roberts, M Roberts, Maurice Gilbert and skip Roger Denny.

It was 13-13 after 15 ends, then the Sudbury rink finished strongly to win 26-15. In the Champion of Champions Mark Royal defeated Alan Buck of Oulton Broad in a competition that is played in sets. Royal ran out a 13-4, 10-7 victor.

Mark became only the third player to win both the Singles and the Champion of Champions in the same year, the first being the late Percy Denny back in 1967 and then Adrian Holden in 1994.

In the under-25s Marcus Fuller successfully defended the title he won last year with a 7-6 10-5 victory over Stone Lodge's Paul Cullum. Along with the title Marcus, of the Rookery club, booked his place at the National Championships in Worthing on August 19.

Terry Swift and Alan Barnes captured the Over-60s pairs title with a 22-17 victory over John Woodcock and Frank Seal of Ipswich Bowling Club. The Mixed Pairs title also went to Marlborough when S. Bernard and Gerry Barrell comfortably overcame the Bramford pair of Ruby and Peter Rudge 20-9.

The next challenge for the finalists will be the National Championships in Worthing starting on Monday, August 21.