FINALS weekend at Skipton Golf Club produced some outstanding golf and close encounters, none more so than in Saturday’s Club Championship between Gavin Stocker and Brook Coward, which ended in a dramatic finale.

Played over 36 holes, it proved a cagey affair from the outset, with neither of the pair able to establish a clear lead throughout.

At the end of the first round it was all square, as it was on completion of the second round after two confident putts on the 36th hole from both players took the game to extra holes.

On the first extra hole, there was a huge opportunity for scratch golfer Coward, surely one of the truest and straightest hitters of the ball at the club, to clinch victory, but he saw his putt from three feet slide by the hole.

Stunning golf on the second saw the hole tied in birdies, before Coward found the green in two on the third and with Stocker’s drive ending in the trees to the right it looked to be advantage Coward for the win. But Stocker, who plays of +2 and holds the course record at Skipton with a 67, wasn’t done for yet, taking aim from 75 yards, lofting the out of the trees onto the green and straight into the hole to take the win and with it the coveted Club Championship with an eagle.

Contesting the final of the Barrett Cup were John Knowles and Scott Amos. After a stalemate opening through the first 8 holes, Knowles firmly took the advantage, winning the 9th, 10th and 11th to go three up around the turn.

Amos tried valiantly to get back into it and made it to the 17th tee at 2 down. However, the comeback wasn’t to be as Amos found the train tracks with his tee shot, handing the victory to Knowles by a margin of 3&1.

The Pairs Plate Final saw Graham Smyth and Freddie Pearson up against Matthew Haines and Tom Oliver, though this encounter developed into a one-sided affair with the former pair taking the match comfortably by a margin of 3&2.

Smyth played particularly well on the day.

Sunday’s Raleigh Hargreaves mixed pairs final proved a closely fought encounter between Chris Payne and Jo Robinson and David Grant and Pat Eaton. An evenly contested front 9 never saw more than one hole in the match, which was all square at the turn.

Grant/Eaton took the lead at the 11th and despite conceding a shot they played the hole very smartly, with a fantastic pitch from Grant producing a solid par to go one up, before a weak putt from Eaton let Payne/Robinson back in at the 13th. Payne found a great line for a winning putt on 14, before sensibly using their shots to go two up at the 15th.

Robinson almost wrapped it up on the 16th, seeing her putt just scrape past the hole.

The 17th and 18th saw some sketchy putting, which allowed Payne/Robinson to close out the win by margin of 1 up.