DANE Bairstow feels honoured to have won the Karl Curran Golfer of the Year Trophy for the second time.

The Bingley St Ives member just pipped team-mate Andy Town to the title awarded to the most consistent player in Bradford Union-related competitions.

Having won it back in 2011, Bairstow is just as thrilled to get his hands on the award again, which was renamed in memory of Curran following his death from skin cancer in 2009. The South Bradford member was the reigning Golfer of the Year when he passed away.

Bairstow, who played with Curran as a junior, said: "Karl was an inspirational guy and one of the most consistent players. He was so dedicated. He was often paired with juniors as he was great at bringing them through.

"It really means a lot to win the trophy named after him again."

Though Bairstow, a former professional, did not win any major individual Bradford Union silverware this season, his consistency put him top of the rankings. He was Bingley's top scorer in what was their third successive Scratch League title.

Yet he admits he thought team-mate Town was going to snatch the Player of the Year crown from him in the season-ending matchplay.

Victory over Cleckheaton's Jamie Lavin in the semi-final would have seen Town claim top spot but he surprisingly lost by a hole, Shipley's Rob Hillas going on to beat Lavin in the final 3&1.

Bairstow, who claimed the Inter-Club Foursomes Championship with James Meredith, said: "At one point it looked like I might walk away with it but I took my foot off the gas a bit and it was a lot tighter than I wanted it to be.

"Andy is a great player but he missed his chance in the semi-final. I was on holiday when he texted me his result and I was shocked."

Bairstow's win means the award has gone to a Bingley St Ives player four times in the last five years and was the icing on the cake for the club who have become the dominant force in Bradford.

Yet St Ives' biggest success of the year came further afield as they became the first Bradford Union club to win the Yorkshire Team Championship First Division for 30 years.

The 26-year-old Bairstow believes their success is becoming reminiscent of Northcliffe in their hey day.

He said: "It just seems to get better for us as a club and we are all so close. Golf might be an individual sport but we have a real team spirit and a great atmosphere which makes such a difference."

A perfect illustration of that spirit was in the Yorkshire triumph at Hessle where they came through the pack at halfway to win by three shots, Bairstow claiming the best second-round score of the afternoon with a 68.

*See today's T&A for breakdown of Karl Curran Trophy standings