COMMONWEALTH gold medallist Richard Corsie was the man of the moment

in Preston yesterday.

Just a few hours after having been named as successor to David Bryant

in the world bowls players' association, Corsie continued his bid for a

record fourth win in the #132,000 Churchill Insurance world indoor

singles championship with his second successive straight-sets win.

Following his first-round demolition of Russell Morgan that included

three world records, Corsie swept aside the challenge of Australia's

Cameron Curtis 7-5, 7-4, 7-4.

The Edinburgh man raced to a 6-0 lead in the opening set but Curtis

hit back. ''The opener could have gone either way. Cameron came back

well and I was a bit fortunate to win it,'' said Corsie later.

The Scot continued to dominate the second set moving 5-1 ahead before

wrapping up a 7-4 victory and in the next, with the scores tied at 3-3

he counted a decisive 3 on the fifth end.

East Lothian's Graham Robertson and Dunfermline-born Hong Kong man

Mark McMahon saw their pairs hopes end at the quarter-final stage when

they went down in straight sets to six-times former winners Bryant and

Tony Allcock.

The Scots led 5-3 after five ends of the opening set but successive

doubles gave the former champions a 7-5 win. Bryant and Allcock again

came from behind in the second and, helped by a maximum 4 on the fifth

end, edged home 7-6 and they repeated that scoreline in the third set.

''The match was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests -- all three

sets could have gone either way,'' said Bryant.

McMahon said: ''We can't have any complaints. I had chances to

capitalise on promising positions and didn't do it.''