JOSEPH Clarke has made Australian lawn bowls history after winning the Under-18 title at the Australian Open on the Gold Coast.

The Park Beach Bowls Club young gun became the first bowler in Australian Open history to defend the Under-18 boys singles title, after winning the event last year.

Clarke had to do it the hard way in the final, coming from as much as six shots down to fight his way back to 16-16, before closing out the match with five shots from the final two ends to beat Merrylands bowler Jack McShane and win his second straight national title.

The seventeen-year-old shared with News Of The Area what it meant for him to be the first bowler to defend the Under-18 title.

“It means a lot, as someone from Coffs Harbour who is not from big areas like Sydney, to take them on and win means the world to me,” he said.

“And it shows the first one wasn’t a fluke which some people might have thought.”

The two-time national champion felt his toughest match came at the end.

“The final was my toughest match by far, as Jack had been playing out of this world,” he said.

“I actually hadn’t bowled to my normal level in the round of sixteen and quarter finals, and I knew If I bowled like that in the final he would flog me,” he said.

“It felt to me going into the final that I was the underdog even though I was the defending champion, and I had that mindset and it spurred me on.”

Despite being down by six shots in the final, the John Paul College student kept his nerve as he drew on the experience of playing on the big stage last year.

“Familiarity with the environment helped me, and just that sense of familiarity as last year I was nervous but this year I was chilled,” he said.

“Being behind I never panicked as I drew on the experience from last year.

“He hadn’t been down the whole tournament, and I knew if I put the pressure on I could win as he wasn’t used to being behind.

“I didn’t want to lose with all my JPC classmates watching the final, as I would rather them congratulate me rather than saying bad luck, and that motivated me.”

Clarke spent this week pairing with former state champion Cory Daley as they tried to win the Phoenix Open Pairs at the Park Beach Bowls Club.

By Aiden BURGESS