Golf: The drinks should have been on Carol Firth last night after she won the Bradford ladies championship at West Bowling.

But the 29-year-old Bingley St Ives ladies captain, who works behind the bar at her own club, was able to take a well deserved night off after beating team-mate Helen Butterfield by one hole in the final.

After a tensely fought duel that see-sawed from the start, two-handicap Firth sank her par four putt on the last and regained the trophy she had previously held in 1994.

Both players had to contend with anything but summery conditions as wind and rain lashed the course. But the standard of golf made a mockery of the weather as Firth, third in the Blackburn Salver the week before, got off to a flier winning the first three holes with pars.

The final took a sudden dramatic turn after the ninth, though, when Butterfield, who plays off one, took four holes in a row with a birdie and three pars to snatch the lead.

It stayed that was until the 15th when Firth took advantage of a wayward second shot from Butterfield to take the hole and pull level before at the 17th, Butterfield found water at the short par three and went behind despite salvaging a four.

The two were closely matched down the last, but Butterfield was left needing to hole a 12 foot putt to save the game and just lipped the hole as both made par.

"We've met quite a few times before but never in the final of a competition," said Firth. "Generally Helen beats me, so it was nice to get the better of her this time. I started really well, but it was almost like a case of deja vu when she came back at me like that to go in front. But I held my game together well in the end."

Earlier South Bradford's Susan White, who had put out Bingley's Julie Knowles in the quarter-finals, could not match Butterfield as she lost 5 and 4 in the semi-finals, while Firth put out Bradford's Joan Marchbank 5 and 4.

West Bradford's Paul Thomas qualified for today's matchplay stages of the British mid-amateur championship at Ganton after a second round 81 gave him a 167 total.

Ilkley's Gordon J Brand shot 74 and clubmate James Hepworth 75 in the first round of the Hippo Tour event at Horsforth with the lead set at 70.

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