THIS time last year, Northcliffe Golf Club members and brothers, Paddy and Oliver Young, were battling it out to be crowned Bradford Golf Union’s Amateur Matchplay champion in the final.

Paddy defeated his brother on that occasion, but fast forward 12 months and the duo are both celebrating victory together.

On September 15 the Northcliffe pair defeated Mark Cook and Rob Hillas to claim victory in the Inter Club Foursomes Knockout final.

The Young brothers eventually won the contest by just one hole in an exciting end of season finale against their good friends from Northcliffe, at Keighley.

Speaking to the T&A, Oliver expressed his delight with the win, when he said: “It was a great feeling to get the victory because at the start of the season, we (Oliver and Paddy) both set out to win this competition.

“It was one that we both really wanted to win as we’ve never managed to achieve that.

“To do it against Mark (Cook) and Rob (Hillas) too was extra special. Rob is one of our best friends, so he kept reminding us that he’d never been beaten (by the Young brothers). So, to get it over the line was a really good feeling.

“Me and my brother are notoriously pretty rubbish at the Foursome events, “Oliver joked. “It’s nice to see that it finally clicked.”

Reflecting on their performance, Oliver said: “We set off really well and were four or five up early on. Then, suddenly, Mark and Rob had a couple of great holes, and we started to stumble slightly.

“The scores got really close even though we didn’t feel like it was that kind of match. Thankfully, we saw it out and got the job done.”

He added: “Golf can swing very quickly. We started just how we had planned to start, coming out of the blocks fast, and then, four of five holes later, it was game on again. It really is a funny game!”

The winning putt on hole 18The winning putt on hole 18 (Image: Bradford Golf Union)

After a frustrating defeat to brother Paddy last year, Oliver admitted that it was important to finish off this golfing year on a high.

He said: “It was good that we could both end the year strongly because this time last year, he (Paddy) beat me in the Matchplay final.

“So, last year ended on a bit of a sour note, which was unfortunate, but we can both be happy with how this season ended.”

Reflecting on his year as a whole, Oliver said: “We’ve won two championships across the year, so I’m fairly pleased with that outcome.

“However, you always want to do better and win more in any sport you play, and that’s the same for me this year.”

Oliver added: “But my game is slowly coming together, and I feel like it’s clicking once again.”

Now that the season is over, Young went on to admit that he’ll be putting his clubs away until next year ahead of a busy winter at work.

He said: “As we’re not professional golfers anymore, we’re both busy at work and by the time it comes to the end of the season, you do feel ready to put the clubs away for a bit of time.

“It’s a very busy period at work too, so I don’t think I’ll pick my clubs up until April now.”