Squires lands county treble

Alan Squires: hat-trick

ALAN SQUIRES has completed a hat-trick by winning the Lancashire seniors championship for a third time.

The 60-year-old from Moorside triumphed in dramatic style at Denton, who hosted the 36-hole event in the club’s centenary year.

Squires, who works for Smiths Plumbing, Oldham, admitted he thought his chances of victory were down the drain when he found himself two shots behind playing partner Glyn Rees, with three holes to play.

But after scoring two birdies in the last three holes while Fleetwood-based Rees dropped two shots, there was an amazing turnabout which left Squires the victor by two shots.

Squires said: “It didn’t look good when I was two shots behind Glyn with three holes to play.

“I chipped in for a birdie three from off the green at the 16th while he had a bogey five.

“That drew us level, though I knew Glyn would have won had it remained that way as he had the better second round.

“I was in the bunker at 17th, but chipped out to six feet to save par while Glynn had another bogey while I also birdied the last.

“And though I won by two shots, it was never as easy as it appeared as it was only settled on the last hole.”

Squires held a one-shot lead over reigning Lancashire champion Rees, one of his main rivals, at the end of the first round after shooting a three-over-par 74.

“I was disappointed because it would have been far better had I not dropped three shots in the last four holes through some silly shots,” he said.

Squires has been in a rich vein of recent form as he also triumphed in the Rut Niblick, an 18-hole event at Pleasington for the third time in four years.