BINGLEY St Ives' Andy Town has not spent as much time on the golf course this year as he would like, but he showed he had not lost his touch as he was crowned Bradford Amateur Matchplay champion.

He only reached the final after a gruelling last-four victory over Mark Cook, in a match that lasted for 20 holes. The final saw a much more convincing scoreline, as he beat young Woodhall Hills golfer Ben Rhodes 4&3.

Town admitted that his play improved throughout the day, saying: "Mark and I both struggled on the morning and we didn't play very well.

"After beating him, I managed to get ten minutes of practice in before facing Ben and I just found something that worked, which showed in the final."

Town is close friends with fellow Bingley golfer Terry Brushwood, who was leading the Karl Curran Trophy standings before Sunday's event.

A Rhodes victory would have seen him pip Brushwood to the crown by a single point and Town laughed: "Terry was following us round and watching the game, hoping I would win it.

"Ben's a great talent but I think Terry and I have shown the younger lads this season that we can still play a bit. I've been busy working all year so I haven't played too much so it's nice to get out there and do well."

Bradford Golf Union captain Martin Gaffney has lavished praise on the crop of hot prospects at Bingley and Town concurred, saying: "Jack Watson has done well this season, and Joe Foster is also a real talent.

"The likes of Terry and I can hopefully be of use and help to point these youngsters in the right direction."

Town and Brushwood might inspire those young talents with a win in the Yorkshire Foursomes final over Beverley on October 14 at Moortown Golf Club.

The former is looking forward to the showpiece event, and he enthused: "The Beverley game should be a good contest as we've played really well in each round to get to the final.

"It does help competing alongside a good friend like Terry because we know each other's game well and we know not to panic if one of us hits a bad shot."

Brushwood will be high on confidence heading into that contest after securing the Karl Curran Trophy. He won with 52 points, Rhodes was second on 49, while Town finished fifth with 33 points.