SCOTLAND'S top bowling stars took part in the inaugural Pro-Am Triples on Sunday.

The likes of Alex 'Tattie' Marshall and fellow county legend Willie Wood were involved at the Alex Marshall Arena, as was Marshall's Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning team-mate Darren Burnett and former world champion Stewart Anderson.

The day's play was hailed a "huge success" by Billy Mellors, the county's bowls development officer, who helped organise the event with East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club.

Mellors was part of the winning team, as he, Lewis Betts and Anderson beat Wood, Graham Robertson and James Hogg to lift the coveted trophy.

Organisers were delighted with the inaugural event, which also included a para-bowls section.

They told Courier Sport: "This is exactly the type of event that the club needs to promote and the work starts soon to ensure we host and even better event next season.

"A fully inclusive line up is certainly the way forward to ensure our sport grows year on year.

"A massive thanks to our co-sponsors, Medical & Professional and Johnston Fuels."

Meanwhile, Stewart Anderson, skip of the winning team, said: "This competition is a great concept and I congratulate the club for hosting this event.

"The youths taking part were fantastic and a special mention for our lead, Lewis Betts who at only 15 played superbly all day."

The field was 24 triples strong, starting off playing round-robin style in six sections of four, after which the trios skipped by John McCrorie, Billy Allan, Graham Robertson, Derek Oliver, Darren Burnett, Stewart Anderson, Robert Grant and Colin Walker qualified for the knockout stage.

The final showdown for the title produced an intriguing contest, with Betts, Mellors and Anderson fighting it out against Garden County legends Willie Wood and Graham Robertson, who teamed up with former East Lothian star James Hogg.

The outcome for the final went right down to the wire but it was Anderson and Co who emerged victorious by two shots.

The talk of the tournament was the brilliant performances by every youth player that took part, and the para-bowlers also performed magnificently, with the triple of Michael Simpson, Garry Brown and Billy Allan losing out narrowly in the quarter-finals.

Results: Section winners: John McCrorie, Billy Allan, Graham Robertson, Darren Burnett, Stewart Anderson and Colin Walker. Best two runners-up: Robert Grant and Derek Oliver.

Quarter-finals: Robertson beat Allan, McCrorie beat Burnett, Anderson beat Grant, Walker beat Oliver.

Semi-finals: Anderson beat Walker (11-3), Robertson beat McCrorie (7-6).

Final: Anderson beat Robertson (11-6).