CLECKHEATON have got the new season off to a cracking start with a double county success on the same weekend.

Megan Lockett won the Yorkshire Ladies Championship, while club-mate Nigel Colbeck triumphed in the Yorkshire Order of Merit event, the Cleveland Salver.

Lockett took time out from studying for her A-levels to lift the prestigious ladies crown at Ganton, overcoming former Curtis Cup player Emma Brown 2&1 in the final.

If that was a close encounter, her route to the show-piece was even tighter as she beat fellow Cleckheaton member Olivia Hamilton on the 19th, Skipton’s Lucy Eaton on the 22nd and Holly Morgan on the last hole, having earlier made it through the strokeplay stages.

Lockett said: “I was one up against Olivia with one to play and she made birdie. It was the same against Lucy, only she made eagle to take it to a play-off.

“It was tough to go again when you are that close to winning but that’s matchplay.”

If the 18-year-old was pleased to come through those challenges, she was even more chuffed to beat Malton & Norton’s Brown, one of the county’s most illustrious amateurs .

Lockett, who plays out of Huddersfield GC, said: “I played her in the final at Bradford two years ago as a 16-year-old and she beat me 2&1 (for her third Yorkshire title).

“But I am a bit more confident now and bit more grown-up with a bit more length to my game.

“My win last summer in the Welsh Girls Matchplay Championship probably still takes centre stage as that was my first one but I’m really thrilled to win the Yorkshire event with so many quality players in it.”

Colbeck made it a Cleck double with a two-shot win ahead of Huddersfield’s Joshua Morton in the Cleveland Salver thanks to rounds of 69 and 74.

Club professional Warren Lockett, who has seen Colbeck develop from an early age, believes a change of circumstances off the course has helped his game.

Lockett said: “He’s now working full-time (as a photocopier engineer) rather than just concentrating on golf. It’s changed his approach in that he used to be harsh on himself at times but he has a bit more of a relaxed attitude.

“He still wants to do well but he has matured.”

Colbeck has also clocked up a fifth place in Selby’s Auchterlonie Spoon, which saw Bingley St Ives’ Dane Bairstow come second.

Cleckheaton’s early success left Lockett, who is Megan’s dad, a very proud professional, father and coach.

He said: “It’s great for the club to see our players in the spotlight so early in the season.”