BOTH match play finals at Skipton Golf Club followed a similar pattern with the eventual winners taking an early advantage.

In the Barrett Cup it was David Cairns up against defending champion Paul Pethybridge.

Despite winning the first hole Cairns found himself five down by the turn after Pethybridge won five holes in a row.

Cairns reduced the arrears winning both the 11th and 12th holes but on the tricky 15th hole Cairns found trouble with his approach shot whilst Pethybridge used all his experience to find the green, eventually closing out the match 4 and 3 to reclaim the title.

In the Men’s Pairs Plate brothers Chris and Matthew Simpson were up against David Grant and Steve Clayton.

It was the Simpsons who took the early lead winning four holes in a row to be four up after five, the highlight being Matt Simpson driving the fifth green to make an easy birdie.

However, great golf from Grant reduced the lead to one up on the ninth tee.

The turning point of the match came on the 11th and 12th with the Simpsons taking turns to hole long crucial putts and at the 16th tee they were three up with three to play. Chris Simpson secured the half on the hole resulting in a 3 and 2 victory.

* With the summer programme coming to a close men at Settle Golf Club held their annual three clubs and a putter competition, after which most members question why they carry up to 14 clubs in their bag throughout the season.

John Read continued his impressive recent form, having won the summer medal final last week.

He set the early pace with a highly creditable 34 stableford points. This proved too good for the other competitors with only Colin Green and Peter Johnson making a realistic challenge. However they both finished well short of Read's score with just 30 points each.

The ladies competed for the prestigious Castlebergh Cup and it was captain Anne Morton who rounded off an excellent year's golf with an emphatic three-shot victory over her nearest rival Christine Mercer. Greta Hargreaves finished third.