It was close. The Queenstown pair of Christine Buchanan and Lindsay Thomas had a few hiccups before retaining their Central Otago mixed pairs title.
The duo faced winds gusting up to 60kmh on their home green before narrowly beating Arrowtown's Bob Howitt and Jenni Heazlewood 15-13 in the final at the weekend.
But their most difficult game was in the semifinal, when it took some miracle shots to beat the husband and wife combination of Bill and Alice Turnbull.
The Wanaka pair had thumped club-mates Stu and Rhonda Hurley 22-1 in a one-sided quarterfinal.
After trailing 9-2, Thomas and Buchanan found themselves 14-10 behind the Wanaka pair playing the final end.
It all looked doom and gloom for the 2016 champions until Buchanan trailed the jack to give her team four shots and force the extra end.
But the drama was not finished.
The first attempt on that end was killed, but on the replay Thomas and Buchanan were in complete control and added five shots.
The win gave Buchanan her 24th centre title and Thomas his fourth.
They will represent Central Otago in the regional play-offs in Dunedin in March.
The winner of that event will contest the New Zealand final at North Harbour in April.
Last year's Dunedin champions, Terry Scott and his daughter, Sarah, were beaten in the semifinals by North East Valley club-mates Jim Scott and Shona Mann 17-14.
Jim Scott and Mann will play the Composite pair of Dave Morris and Jessie Matheson in the final later this month.
