Werneth final hopes dashed

WERNETH’s hopes of a place in the prestigious Dunham Forest finals day were dashed when they were beaten 5-2 at Northenden in the quarter finals.

But the day was not without controversy with a Northenden player knocking a drive out of bounds early in the round only for it to be thrown back onto the course from the path of the nearby River Mersey — and he played it.

The visiting club felt this was against the spirit of the game if not against the rules of golf and it put a dampener on a day where they went so close to achieving their goal.

There were wins for teenager Adam Rowbotham (1 hole) from one down with two to play and Les Dooley, who maintained his 100 per cent record in the competition this season with a hard-fought 2 and 1 success.

Just how close Werneth came was shown in the margin of defeats with father and son Paul and Lee Rowbotham both losing at 17, James Buckley and professional James Matterson losing on the final green and Mark Abbot having the agony of losing on the first extra hole having played some quality golf including starting with three birdies.

Secretary John Barlow said afterwards: “The whole club was very proud of the players and the way they conducted themselves — and the players received fantastic support with over 30 members following the matches.

“The whole ‘out-of-bounds’ incident is gone now and we wish Northenden all the best in the finals.”