“I have won the singles there before (in 2004), but to take on a player of his calibre and come out on top is a better feeling,” he said.

Glasson won singles tournaments both before and after the South Pacific tournament, so it is not as though he wasn’t in good form.

Earlier in the grueling week-long tournament, Sargeant had been part of the Corrimal team which won the fours title.

This meant that much of the pressure he might have felt before and during the singles final was removed, but it was a nail-biting affair nevertheless. He had never played a singles match against Glasson before.

“I was pretty nervous, because there was a decent crowd in,” he said.

“I was just stoked to be playing against Steve.”

Sargeant insisted that Glasson took it well.

“He was a full-on gentleman.”

Ironically, in his most triumphant tournament, Sargeant’s Corrimal team missed the pairs finals for the first time in seven years.

Sargeant began his bowls career on the Batemans Bay Bowling Club greens at 14, and his parents Les and Sandy are keen bowlers.

Next week he is off to Thornberry in Melbourne to compete in the Australian Open, which starts on Monday.

His team will compete in the triples in a tournament where fortunes are hard to predict.

“The first few rounds are the hardest, so if you get through them you should be okay,” he said.