John Drake

A single-figure golfer for many years and a popular member of the Howley Hall Golf Club at Morley, John Drake became a well-known and respected figure on the regional and national golf stages after succeeding Charles Scatchard as correspondent for the Yorkshire Evening Post.

He covered golf at every level, from Winter Alliance competitions through to Open Championship and Ryder Cups. He worked at over 30 Opens and was part of the Royal and Ancient team responsible for collating results from the regional qualifying tournaments.

John Drake was born in the High Town district of Liversedge and was educated at the local school, invariably referred to by former pupils as "the school for gentlemen". His first job was in the Heckmondwike sales office of the Bradford Telegraph and Argus where his tasks included taking in family notices and recruiting street sellers for the newspaper's Saturday evening "Pink" sports edition.

The keen young Drake had a short spell as a trainee reporter on the Dewsbury Reporter and also worked for the Spenborough Guardian before moving to Leeds and the YEP.

There he loved nothing more than being in the field, not being over-keen on the day-to-day grind of desk-bound office work in the winter when golf was largely dormant.

He also managed to mix work and play with success, filling a cabinet at home with trophies, and particularly relished a

hole-in-one achieved while playing with his peers during the 1988 Yorkshire Media Championships at the Northcliffe club in Shipley.

Long winters offered one consolation: the opportunity to watch and report on the successes and disappointment – mostly the latter – of his beloved Huddersfield Town.

He was taken to his first match at Leeds Road by his father 1948, sooner after his eighth birthday and, typically, Town were beaten 4-3 despite two goals from the great Peter Doherty.

He remained faithful to the club for the rest of his life and continued to report on matches home and away until ill health forced him to step down.

Mr Drake retired from the YEP after undergoing two hip replacement operations but continued to play golf with a rare passion, latterly with the help of an electric buggy, and was contributing copy to various outlets, including the Yorkshire Post, as a freelance journalist until the last week of his life.

"He simply loved his work," said his widow Marjorie, who often accompanied him on his golfing travels.

Mr Drake died in Dewsbury Hospital. His funeral service will be at Dewsbury Minster on Monday at 2pm followed by internment at Liversedge Cemetery and a reception at Howley Hall GC.