Yorkshire golf: Julie Ettenfield wins all-Otley final to lift YLCGA Challenge Bowl

The three days of competition for players with a handicap higher than eight were staged at York, the home club of Yorkshire Ladies County Golf Association captain Dawn Clegg.

The first day saw 12-year-old Saffron Thompson (Sandburn) lead the 16 players who qualified for the following day’s initial match play segment with a superb net 66 off 24.

She won the Victory Bowl ahead of Bondhay’s Pat Crabtree (89-22-67), who took second from Shipley’s Ann Smith (77-10-67) on count back.

Victory in the Ilkley Trophy, a greensomes competition played alongside the first round of match play ties, went to Sharon Cane (Hornsea) and D Watterson (Hallowes) with 39pts.

Day three saw Malton & Norton’s Chris Glendinning, Carol Wilson and Pat Hague win the Everard Trophy tri-am while Ettenfield was defeating another Otley player, Sue Ridyard, 3&2 to claim her place in the Challenge Bowl final against Wilyman, a 6&5 victor against Huddersfield’s Helen Byrne.

The final proved a close affair, with no more than a hole between the pair right the way up to the last green, where Ettenfield sealed a one-hole victory against the 2006 and 2010 Challenge Bowl champion.

Shipley (Ann Smith, Helen Williams and Sue Dennis) won the Helen Drake Salver for best gross club score as well as the Hamilton Trophy for best net score, Smith, Williams and Val Exley the players whose scores counted for the latter.