Hayes chases top prize money

Press, 20 August 1981, Page 32

Hayes chases top prize money

A chance to double the money he won during the whole' of the Adidas tournament players’ championship challenges Canterbury’s top squash player, Rod Hayes, over the next three days. Hayes has gone north to Khandallah, Wellington, where he will join, the top eight men and women on the national circuit for the $3OOO T.P.C. finals.

The South Island champion was the top men’s qualifier on the circuit and picked up about $6OO for his trouble; that same sum goes to the winner of the grand final, televised live on Saturday afternoon.

Total prize money for the finals ($2OOO men, $lOOO women) is $lOOO greater than that for the recent national championships and the good news for squash players such as Hayes is that the worldranked professionals, Bruce Brownlee and Ross Norman, will not be around to grab a share.

A round-robin series will be played in two pools today

and tomorrow and Hayes has been unfortunate to strike the world No. 26, Craig Blackwood (a late replacement for the injured Neven Barbour), in Pool A.

However, Hayes was in perhaps the best form of his career during the nationals and severely tested Norman, ranked No. 13 in the world, in a five-set battle before losing, 9-2, 9-3. 3-9. 6-9. 5-9. His attacking ability and high level of fitness could yet take him to a win over Blackwood (who beat Hayes in three hard sets in the final of the Southern Districts championships last month) and a place in the grand final. There the prize money of $6OO and $4OO is a significant rise from the $2BO and $220 offered for third and fourth place over-all. Hayes meets John Mills at Khandallah tonight, another Wellingtonian in David Oakley tomorrow afternoon and then Blackwood late that evening. He has already proved his superiority to the first two this season and

believes he has a chance of beating Blackwood providing he can finish off Oakley quickly. Pool B is certain to be won by the brilliant junior. Stuart'Davenport (Havelock North). who demolished Blackwood for the loss of just four points in the playoff for third at the nationals. Mark Smith. Andrew Sinclair (both Wellington), and Dean Lovett (Hamilton) are the other players in this pool. There is the interesting prospect in the women’s section of Annette Owen (Auckland) and Susan Devoy (Rotorua) vying for top prize money of $3OO in their section. Miss Owen won the national title, but the little junior reversed that result in the teams’ event.

Miss Owen faces Robyn Blackwood (North Shore), Kay Glenny (Thorndon). and Karen Lever (Mount Maunganui) in her pool while Miss Devoy's opponents are Joanne Milne (Otago University), Jenny Webster (North Shore), and Donna Gurran (Edgecumbe).