Douglas Grant Watson (1943-2005), was a South African international lawn bowler.

Bowls career

World championships

Doug came to prominence in 1972 when he won

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in the

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

at the

1972 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 1972 Men's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at Beach House Park in Worthing, England, from 5 to 17 June 1972. Maldwyn Evans won the singles which was held in a round robin format. The pairs Gold was won by Hong Kong, the triples G ...

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

. He also won a silver medal in the team event (Leonard Trophy). Four years later he won the singles, pairs and team gold medals at the

1976 World Outdoor Bowls Championship The 1976 Men's World Outdoor Bowls Championship was held at Zoo Lake Park in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 18 February to 6 March, 1976. Doug Watson won the singles which was held in a round robin format. South Africa completed a clean sweep ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. He won 14 of his 15 matches to win the singles ahead of Bob Middleton of Australia and David Bryant of England. In the Pairs he partnered

Bill Moseley William Moseley (born November 11, 1951) is an American actor, primarily known for his performances in horror films. His best-known roles include Chop Top in ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2'' (1986), Otis B. Driftwood in Rob Zombie's ''Firefly ...

as they won 13 of their 15 matches.

International

In 1972 aged 29 he became the youngest bowler ever to represent South Africa. His international success was cut short by 1980 because South Africa had been excluded from competing by the IBB. In 1976 he was invited by the Waratah Club of Australia to compete in a bowls competition and the Australian authorities missed the fact that he was competing as a South African national which was not allowed because of their stance against

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

in South Africa.

National

He won the 1971 pairs title and the 1968 fours title at the

South African National Bowls Championships The South African National Bowls Championships is organised by Bowls South Africa (BSA). The first National Singles Championships were held in 1897 in Kimberley despite the fact that the South African Bowls Association was not formed until 1904 ...

when bowling for the Springwood Bowls Club.

Personal life

He was a sales representative by trade.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Doug South African male bowls players Bowls World Champions 1943 births 2005 deaths