Historic event ready to roll

The 77th staging of the popular annual event will get underway at 9.30am today (Monday) and continue through until the finals the following Saturday afternoon.

Entry numbers are very similar to last year with 121 players in the singles, 80 pairs and 50 triples, and all will doubtless be hoping the good recent weather continues for a little while yet.

As well as the strong local contingent, there will be several players from Kent and Essex, a lot of clubs in Surrey will be represented - including Cranleigh, which has supported the tournament for many years - and there will even be players from as far afield as Weymouth and Wales.

Tournament organiser Bill Whittington said: “There’s some good quality bowlers that come down, and they like the venue and they like the greens as well. There’s always a laugh and a joke going on. It’s serious, but it’s not serious. It’s very, very friendly, and it’s all in one area.”