Gore and New Zealand international bowler Sheldon Bagrie-Howley attended the 2024 Golden Nugget at Club Tweed in Australia last week.
The invitation-only bowling tournament featured many of the world’s top bowlers.
Played over three days, Bagrie-Howley won two of his five matches.
"This was a lot different to Singapore. So I got off to a little bit of a slow start but once I found it I came back a little bit," he said.
Before the tournament, he had joked he "wanted to win one game".
"I had high expectations of myself, I wanted to qualify."
He narrowly missed out on the quarterfinals, falling short by one spot.
"It was definitely an experience. Playing against that calibre of player was really cool."
In his final match, he defeated world No 1 Aron Sherriff.
"It’s quite cool to know that when I’m playing well.
"I’m not actually as far off as when I self-doubt myself."
On his return to New Zealand he competed in the National Champion of Champions Men’s Triples in Auckland.
Played on Friday and Saturday in a trio with Gore Bowling Club players Thomas Cockerill and Elliot Mason, they placed 10th among 19 competitors.
He wanted to thank the Mataura Licensing Trust, the Gore and Districts Memorial RSA and the Croydon Aircraft Company for their continued support of his career.
