Moortown storm blows Yorkshire Challenge off course

The overall winners of the better ball event held over the county’s three Ryder Cup venues – Ganton, Moortown and Lindrick – will now be decided on their full scores over the former and latter two plus the front nine score at Moortown.

Thursday provided a repeat at Lindrick where 44pts proved the winning score, brought in by Matthew Moore and Peter Marshall, of Hessle. They edged a pair from Liphook in Hampshire on the back nine thanks to a rare occurrence – a five-point hole.

Marshall eagled the 487-yard par-5 16th and with his shot marked down a net albatross that meant they came home with 24pts compared to Alan Weaver and Kevin White’s 23.

Moore and Marshall had opened with two birdies, slipped with a one-pointer at the third, but then came a run of five pars before they concluded the front nine with a birdie. They had three more birdies on the back nine plus the albatross.

Howley Hall’s Bob Carr and Paul Blackshaw were the top dogs on the day at Ganton with 40pts, leaving three pairings a shot back in their wake.

They, too, built early momentum with birdies at the first and second and had four in all on the outward loop. Surprisingly, they had none on the return to the clubhouse although they did have a net eagle at the 535-yard par-5 13th from Blackshaw.

First-round leaders Jeremy Halliday and Peter Jones found Ganton a tougher proposition than Lindrick, carding 10pts fewer with a tally of 34. Defending champions Aaron Leathley and John Kennedy, of Consett, have recorded 38 each day.