Yorkshire Challenge: It's tight at the top heading into final day

Royal Lytham & St Annes’ Andrew Dawson Gerard and Phil Davies, of Leek, are threatening to take the title out of Yorkshire hands, with Howley Hall’s Martin Barber and Brian Hill the defending champions.

But after scores of 41 43, Dawson Gerard and Davies lead on 84pts solely on count back from John Webster (Bedale) and Roger Parry (Rudding Park), who added 38 after a first-round 46.

This is the fourth annual staging of a trilateral pairs event that is growing in popularity, with 350 golfers competing at each of Yorkshire’s Ryder Cup venues: Ganton, Moortown and Lindrick.

Pairs will go out in order on the final day, leaders last, which will add further excitement to a competition that offers daily as well as overall prizes.

Forest Park’s Darren Dunning and Mike Rushton were emphatic winners at Lindrick with an exceptional 47pt tally, putting them four clear of Dawson Gerard and Davies, and five ahead of third-placed Dean Mountain and Desmond Lawson (Normanton).

Whitby’s Andrew Coomber and Anthony Robinson (Pannal) had a more modest 40pt aggregate at Moortown, but it gave them a one-point victory on the day ahead of Burnham & Berrow’s Andy Towens and Robin Griffiths, with Hallowes’ Alex Elmore and Zahid Din a point further back in third.

Winners at Ganton by a four-point margin were Karl Atkinson (Blackwell Grange) and Neil Sanderson (Eaglescliffe) with 44pts.

Pleasington’s Andrew and Mark Walsh were second on count back from Andrew Snellgrove (Tidworth Garrison) and Jason Wyles (High Post).

Dawson Gerard and Davies’s last round is at Ganton, Webster and Parry’s at Moortown.

Dunning and Rushton, who had seven gross birdies between them, said of their 47pt round at Lindrick: “We have played the course five or six times now over the last few years.

“We now understand that you have to have extremely strategic play to be able to score well at Lindrick.”