THE opportunity of making history while claiming a major title was one that wasn't lost on a Commonwealth Games aspirant.

As fate would have it, St Johns Park Bowls Club's Ben Twist did both in taking home the 2017 Tweed Open Premier Singles title at Tweed Heads Bowls Club on Wednesday, after going head-to-head in a tense final with Broadbeach Bowls Club's Serena Matthews.

While the win lands Twist a cool $3500 in prize money and direct entry into the prestigious Golden Nugget on July 31, it was competing in the first ever man versus woman Premier Singles final in the event's two-decade history that filled Twist with pride.

"There's a lot of debate as to whether women can compete with men and I think this has been a really good promotion for the sport,” Twist said.

"Traditionally a lot think that you should beat a lady, because she's female, but that's stereotypical. The ladies can beat anybody if they play well, regardless of age and sex.

"Bowls is a great sport and any age - man or woman - can play. This week has been a great promotion for that.”

Representative of a changing of the guard, the 27-year-old from Sydney's west shares a modern view which promises to change the game.

Bowling for some 15 years after being introduced to the game by his father Jeff, Twist's dreams of donning the green and gold at Commonwealth Games level moved a step closer after claiming Wednesday's title.

He was proud to play against Matthews, who he defeated 21-12 in a final which captivated the crowd.

"I thought, it's just another opponent,” Twist said of his mental approach to the final.

"That's how you need to take it, you need to play your own game. Singles is very mental, so you can't worry too much about your competition.

"You don't enter a tournament to come second, and I've played in this five or six times and haven't been able to win it. So this was a big one.”

Used to enjoying strong support whenever on the Tweed greens, Twist said the script was flipped in the final, with Matthews enjoying partisan support.

"She had a lot of support and rightfully so. People wanted to see her win,” he said.

"I had to get over that obstacle. Being on the other side of the ledger was different but credit to her, she was fantastic.”

Heading straight back to Sydney, Twist will now turn his attention to his Golden Nugget preparation, which he said would be the biggest moment of his career to date.

"My main purpose was trying to get through to Golden Nugget, that's the most prestigious in Australia and perhaps the Southern Hemisphere,” Twist said.

"I'll hit the practice paddock as there's a few areas I want to work on. So I'll practice hard, and hopefully I can play well at the Nugget.

"I'd love to play for Australia, so performing well in big events like the Nugget is a must. That's the reason I came up (to Tweed), so hopefully I perform well there (Golden Nugget).”

Fitting of the history- making Tweed final, Twist believes he'll become part of the first father and son bowlers to compete in the Nugget, after Jeff played in the past.

Matthews' trailblazing effort also landed her a Nugget wildcard, after she finished the highest-ranked female by making Wednesday's final.