BRADFORD Golf Union captain Martin Gaffney lamented his side's misfortune during their disappointing 23-13 Inter-District League defeat at Halifax-Huddersfield, but was pleased with the performance of one young star in particular.

Teenager Ben Rhodes won 3&2 in his singles match at Dewsbury & District Golf Club on Sunday, meaning that the Woodhall Hills golfer remains undefeated in his three individual clashes so far.

Gaffney enthused: "Ben did well to win that match, against a very experienced golfer in Huddersfield's Aaron Schnacke, and it means he's leading the Captain's Salver as our leading points scorer so far.

"In terms of youth, I'm excited about a crop of juniors coming through at Bingley St Ives and I'm hopeful that they might be able to play this season or next season. We are actively looking for youngsters that can make that step up to the Union side."

Gaffney felt that the eventual 23-13 scoreline did not truly reflect the way proceedings had gone, and he said: "In the foursomes matches, five out of six went to the last two holes, three went down the last, and we lost twice on the final hole.

"It's always difficult to recover after falling behind in the morning, but even our singles matches in the afternoon were generally very close. James Darcy did very well for us too to win 5&4 in the final match of the day.

"I'd say it was mainly a close contest played in good spirits. It was a difficult day because of the heat though and there were definitely some quirky bounces.

"We put out a younger team than normal and I thought they performed well overall."

Unfortunately, Bradford's defeat is their second in a row, having lost to title favourites Sheffield last time out, and Gaffney conceded that their title chances now looked slim, with only seven games in a season.

He said: "It will be difficult to win the title now after two defeats from three. One goal for the rest of the season will be to give younger players some experience.

"However it's important not to put them out there if they are not strong enough or not quite ready yet."

Bradford's next Inter-District League fixture is a home clash against Harrogate at Baildon Golf Club on July 8, where they will hope to get back to winning ways.