Goldfinger fires! Andrew Gilding hits highest average of the day at at Players Championship 19

Andrew Gilding threw the highest average at the 19th Players Championship tournament of the season last Thursday.

The former UK Open champion threw an average of 110.38 in his first round against Andy Baetens, making him the only player during the tournament to break the 110-average mark. It was a good day anyway for Gilding, who managed to reach the semifinals, losing to eventual winner James Wade.

Raymond van Barneveld came close to Gilding's average. The five-time world champion won 6-1 over Robert Owen in his opening match by throwing an average of 109.34. That average was good for the second highest average of the tournament.

Following behind is Alan Soutar, who triumphed with a 105.59 moyenne against Dirk van Duijvenbode in the first round. Van Duijvenbode himself had an average of 101.87 in that match. A number of other Dutchmen were also in good form, as Wessel Nijman (104.70 and 101.91), Gian van Veen (102.32) and Jermaine Wattimena (102.27) also had averages well above 100.

Tournament winner Wade totaled three 100+ averages in seven matches, culminating in an average of 103.94 in his fourth-round match against Kevin Doets (6-4). Earlier, Wade had thrown an average of 100.63 in his opening match against Brett Claydon (6-2), while 'The Machine' managed an average of 101.52 in his final against Scott Williams (8-3).