LIGHTCLIFFE won the Lawrence Batley Seniors Team Championship.

They beat Marsden 6-2 in the final at Dewsbury & District despite difficult conditions with rain and a strong wind.

The competition is among 32 clubs, mainly from West Yorkshire, with the winners of the four divisions playing off for a place in the final.

Marsden beat Woodsome Hall in their semi-final on countback and Lightcliffe beat South Leeds.

It is the first time that Lightcliffe have reached the finals, although in the last four years they have reached the semis three times, and it’s the first time the team final has been contested by two nine-hole clubs.

The winning team were David Driver, Ian Philp, captain David Nurse, Peter Gallagher, Malcolm Sanders, Tony Keighley, Nick Hughes and Michael Anderton.

Gary Binks and Steve Swallow have also been regular members of the squad, with John Garforth, George Pickles and Andrew Crossland also having played.

The Lawrence Batley Individual Matchplay final was won by John Thomson of Woodsome Hall, who beat Richard Loddick (Huddersfield) by one hole.

It was, as the score suggests, a closely-contested final.

Thomson was two up on the 17th tee but Loddick won that hole to take the match down the last.

Both players found the green with their tee shots, leaving Loddick with a tricky downhill putt which shaved the hole.

Thomson left his first putt across the green three feet short, meaning he had to hold the next one to prevent the match going into ‘extra time’. He held his nerve to become the first players from Woodsome Hall to win the individual title.