Yorkshire golf: Keighley pair Andrew Rhodes and Luke Roberts heading for Portugal after triumph at Fulford

KEIGHLEY professional Andrew Rhodes and club member Luke Roberts have won through to a place in the Grand Final of the Lombard Trophy.
Keighley's professional Andrew Rhodes, right, and Luke Roberts after their victory at Fulford.Keighley's professional Andrew Rhodes, right, and Luke Roberts after their victory at Fulford.
Keighley's professional Andrew Rhodes, right, and Luke Roberts after their victory at Fulford.

The pair will compete at Pestana Golf Resort Villa Sol in Portugal on September 22-23 having become the first of 14 qualifiers out of an entry of tens of thousands of golfers across the UK.

Roberts won Keighley's April Medal for the right to represent Keighley at Fulford where their eight-under-par score in very difficult and blustery conditions gave them a one-shot victory.

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"I would like to say a huge thank you and congratulations to Luke (and his super caddie, his dad Brian), who were excellent company," said Rhodes.

"Luke can be extremely proud of how he conducted himself - especially as we approached what Sir Alex Ferguson would refer to as 'squeaky bum time', holing one or two crucial putts on the closing holes to maintain our momentum and help the tiring old pro with dodgy knees.

"We are both very proud of our achievement and cannot wait to take the next step of our journey in Portugal. As a team we gelled really well and we look forward to doing it all again for our club in September."

Birley Wood will be represented by eight players in the northern regional final of the National Association of Public Golf Courses' men's championship at Crookhill Park on Saturday, July 2.

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In the club's NAPGC qualifier the gross club champion was Lee Walker, net club champion Carlton Hollis, overall best gross: Philip Barlow, overall best net Liam Albert, Division One winner Paul Dye, Division Two winner Chris Bethell, Division Three winner James Cutforth and Division Four winner Ian Marples.

Taking part in the NAPGC regional final at Bradley Park on Saturday, July 30 will be Walker, David Rutland, David Reynolds, Peter Haynes and Oliver Fearn.

More than 150 people took part in the Halifax West End's Stableford and Lombard Qualifier.

The prize for the highest person eligible for the Lombard would play at Formby GC with Head Professional Darren Arber.

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With the course in fantastic condition and in near-perfect conditions, two scores of 42pts placed top of Division 1 with Kent Nicholson beating Freddy Nicholson, no relation, into second place on a count back.

In Division 2 the scoring was even hotter with Keith Grimshaw returning 45 in only his second competition since joining the club. Hie immediately sought out head professional Darren Arber to thank him for the previous week's lesson. However, he was knocked into second place by 14-year-old Max Nicholson, brother of Freddy, who scored an astonishing 47pts.

Kent Nicholson was the leading score in the Lombard Qualifier and now goes forward to play with Arber in the Regional Final at Formby on Thursday, July 21.

The ladies competition was won my Mandy Holden with 37, a point ahead of Judith Abernethy.

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Meltham's Victory Cup 1945 was won by Tim Hirst with a 65, three clear of runner-up James Boylan, who resigned Ed Branston to third on count back.

Best gross score came from Joshua McAspurn, with a 67 in an event that helped raise funds for the Royal British Legion.

Oakdale's men's monthly medal saw Simon Daly victorious in Division One with a net 67. Barry Light (71) topped Division Two and Mark Bristow (66) Division Three.

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