Steve puts Chronicle crown on the line

Steve Bower - defends title

GOLF:

CROMPTON and Royton’s Steve Bower defends the Chronicle Cup at Oldham on Saturday.

Winner at Werneth 12 months ago, he tees off at 10.24am.

A TRIP to a stunning Mexican beach resort is the dream prize in the sights of Crompton and Royton’s Ray Griffiths and club professional Martin Beaty.

They will book their place if they can come through the regional final of Europe's biggest pro-am competition, the Virgin Atlantic PGA National Pro-Am Championship.

Griffiths is a retired 65-year-old living in Oldham and plays off 14, while 32-year-old Beaty has been Crompton and Royton professional for three years.

The pair go to St Annes Old Links next Wednesday for one of 16 regional finals in which they will play one round of better-ball medal play. The winners at each regional final get seats on a plane to the Mexico resort for the 36-hole final.



CROMPTON and Royton’s Andy Allen had rounds of 71 and 73 for a total of 144 to finish sixth in the Penwortham Rose Bowl, a top event in the Northern Order Of Merit.

Victory for the second year in a row went to Longridge’s Mark Young — a former Royton Sword winner, with 71 and 69 for 140.



JOHN Biesty won the Spring Cup at Brookdale with a terrific return of net 132 for two rounds.

In landing the major, 13-handicapper John opened up a six-shot gap over runner-up Jimmy Butt (68-70=138 off 16, CPO) and third-placed Matthew Hampson (67-71=138).



WERNETH captain Lee Rowbotham produced a superb round to win a singles Stableford with 44 points.

He went out in a stunning 25 points with birdies at the second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth holes.

Had it been a medal round, the one-handicapper would have equalled his own course record of 61 thanks to a birdie at the last. And he might even have beaten it but for a bogey five at the 17th.



WERNETH and North Manchester, the teams leading the two ‘A’ Divisions of the Oldham and District Golf League, have been kept apart in the draw for the quarter-finals of the cup.

Werneth, runaway leaders of the East Division, face Crompton and Royton at Denton after the High Barn Club came through with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Fairfield at Werneth, with two of the three successes coming on the final green.

And North, top of the West Division, had an even tougher passage as they needed a sudden-death win at the fourth extra hole for Dave Mellor and Keith Nield to see off Saddleworth 3-2 at Dukinfield.

They now face Dukinfield at Crompton and Royton in the round of matches to be played during the week starting June 18.



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