Golf: Bradford captain Mel Harris was convinced 605 would be good enough to win the First Division Team Championship on his own course.

And when his own team bettered that total by one shot at Hawksworth on Sunday, he must have felt they had done enough to end the 22-year wait since they completed a hat-trick of back-to-back wins in 1976.

But he had reckoned without the determination of West Bradford - fielding by far the strongest team in the competition - to retain the trophy they took in Shipley last year.

They improved on their morning total of 301 by one stroke to keep their hands on the trophy and dominated the prizes to such an extent that they even claimed best and second best gross prizes.

There was certainly no stopping Bradford Open champion Paul Thomas, who had endured the wind and rain at the British Mid-Amateur Championship at Ganton a few days earlier to find the winds of Hawksworth much more to his liking.

No-one could match his morning round of 71, and after slicing another shot off his score in the afternoon, the best gross prize was a formality for the 26-year-old. Team-mate Darryl Berry was left to pick up the runners-up honours after successive rounds of 72, with amateur strokeplay champion Andy Dufton from Woodhall Hills just edging out Bradford's Chris Goodison for third with a better afternoon round.

Mark Evans showed consistent form for West Bradford with rounds of 76 and 78, while Julian Townsend completed the line-up with 82 and 80.

With a total handicap of 12 compared to West Bradford's six, it was a tremendous effort by the home club to finish just three shots adrift. They enjoyed better weather with an earlier start, but with all four members of the team posting 77 or less, it set a tough challenge to the field.

After Goodison, Richard Bond produced rounds of 76 and 74 for a 150 total, while Harris and Andy Bean had 77s in each round for identical 154 totals.

Shipley, who included two of their younger members - James Simpson and James Firth - were the nearest challengers in third place with 611.

Cleckheaton needed last-man-out Dave Woodcock to improve on his morning 75 to stand a chance of avoiding relegation, but he slumped to an 82, and they joined Northcliffe, South Bradford and Bingley St Ives in the drop.

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