Play-off duel all in the family

HANDS OFF, IT’S MINE . . .Lee Rowbotham (left) after thwarting his dad, Paul.

GOLF: 

LEE Rowbotham regained the Werneth club championship from his brother Adam – by beating his dad, Paul, in a play-off.

The Rowbotham battle royal — the trio have won the title 13 times — saw seven-time winner Paul take a four-shot, first-round lead with a fine three-under par 65. But he dropped three shots in the last two holes of his second round to post a 71 for a level-par total of 136.

Lee was able to match that (69+67), with Adam a shot behind after a second-round best mark of 66 to add to his first-round 71.

The six-hole play-off was impressive, with Lee making birdies at the difficult second and the short fourth and fifth holes, while Paul’s only gain to par was at the fifth. That brought 29-year-old Lee his fifth club title and his fourth in six years.

He said: “I’ve been playing really well recently, but had to grind out the scores as I made a few errors in both rounds. To be honest I played my best golf of the day in the play-off — which isn’t easy when you’re playing your dad!”

Veteran Pete Griffin won the best nett prize with scores of 65 and 68.