Thrybergh aces retain crown

Division One saw its closest finish for years with the Thrybergh club, Phoenix and Wath all in with a chance of claiming the title.

On the night of the matches, at some point each of the three clubs were top of the tree, but Rotherham, who had home advantage against Hallamshire, managed to hold on to successfully defend the title they won last year.

It was a hard-fought last match for Rotherham with several players unavailable as they were competing in the Lee Westwood Trophy.

Andy Caulton got the first of four points on the board and it was left to captain Pete Daughtrey to close out his match and ensure the title was theirs.

The story could had been different had Wath and Phoenix mustered more points from their matches.

News of Rotherham's scoreline travelled to both rival clubs at Tankersley and Renishaw, resulting in Wath requiring eight points and Phoenix six to overhaul their title rivals. Despite been up in three games and all square in the other at one point, Wath's challenge fell away on the back nine at Renishaw and only Nick Poppleton managed a victory in a disappointing 6-2 defeat.

Phoenix were also in a strong position with Carl McGuinness three-up with three to play and set to put the first two points on the board, but a strong finish by Sheffield Open champion Richard Hanson saw him fightback to claim a half. Brother Mike also lost the 18th to half whilst Dean Longden won the 17th with a birdie and held on for the third half of the night.

The result of the first three matches made the result of match four a formality in terms of the championship and both teams will look back at what might have been.