Bradford Union are still heading for a final-day title decider with Yorkshire Inter-District League leaders East Riding after their latest victory.
Not even the strong winds buffeting Bingley St Ives could blow them off course as they claimed a 22-14 success over Halifax/Huddersfield.
Unbeaten Bradford made it three wins in four – they halved the opener away to York in May – and skipper Tim Wade was delighted with the performance, given the tricky conditions.
Wade said: “It wasn’t very pleasant but the lads coped well. The course was quite bouncy and so anything slightly off line was exaggerated.
“You can’t do anything about the dryness but I thought the course generally was in superb condition. The scoring was very good considering because the greens were receptive.”
Bradford dropped the opening two foursomes but recovered with four wins on the trot to lead 8-4 at the lunch interval. They wobbled again at the start of the singles, losing three of the first four, before the tail end rallied strongly to clinch the points.
The singles winners included Skipton’s Matt Ryder, who was back in the Union line-up after a three-year absence.
Second-placed Bradford face a tough-looking match at Leeds next up but attention is inevitably turning to the last game of the competition when they host East Riding at Cleckheaton.
Wade said: “I’m hedging my bets and trying to take one match at a time, the same as East Riding. But it could possibly all come down to when we play each other on the first Sunday in September.
“We’re just over halfway now and happy with the way things have gone. We’ve had two matches away and teams do like to take you to places you’ve not been for a long time.”
RESULTS – Foursomes (8-4, Bradford names first): D Bairstow & M Roche lost to A Schnacke & B Adamson 5&3, P Fenton & N Colbeck lost to I Powell & B Tupman 1 hole, A Town & T Brushwood bt J Bower & A Cryer 1 hole, M Atter & A Fitzpatrick bt A Shaw & J Ellison 1 hole, C Howe & M Evans by A Wilford & D Stafford 1 hole, M Ryder & J Mountain bt B Crowther & M Hepworth 3&2. Singles (14-10): P Fenton (Cleckheaton) bt A Schnacke 4&2, A Town (West Bradford) lost to B Adamson 3&1, N Colbeck (Cleckheaton) lost to I Powell 3&2, D Bairstow (Bingley St Ives) lost to J Bower 2&1, M Roche (Baildon) bt A Cryer 2 holes, T Brushwood (West Bradford) halved with A Shaw, M Atter (Bradford) bt B Tupman 2&1, C Howe (Hollins Hall) halved with J Ellison, A Fitzpatrick (Keighley) lost to D Stafford 1 hole, M Evans (Hollins Hall) bt A Wilford 4&3, M Ryder (Skipton) bt M Hepworth 5&4, J Mountain (Cleckheaton) bt B Crowther 4&3.
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