A MATT finish will have to be at its most consistent amid a gathering of champions in pursuit of the York Amateur title tomorrow.

Fulford Golf Club hosts the early morning start to the York Union of Golf Clubs' tournament, which was won last year in the most dramatic fashion by Fulford's Matt Kelly.

After the 36-holes of strokeplay, he was among seven players all tied on 149. But in the crammed play-off Kelly proved the epitom of consistency when he parred all three holes to lift the title.

This year, the one-handicap player again heads the field, but he can expect just as high-calibre a challenge to the defence of his crown as none of the other 47 players have a handicap greater than five.

Among the likely candidates to usurp Kelly are two aces who play off scratch - Pike Hills GC's Martin Brown and James Duckett, formerly of Boothferry GC, but now a Fulford team-mate of reigning champion Kelly.

Two former champions, who will be eager to reclaim the top prize are David Holder, from The York GC, and Jonathan Plaxton, who would love to mark his year as Fulford club captain with his name engraved again on the glittering trophy.

Matthew Camacho, who plays off one, will spearhead the bid for a Malton and Norton GC triumph, while another likely contender is fellow one-handicapper Adrian Lount, of Pike Hills.

Meanwhile, the early leadership in the YUGC's Scratch League has been assumed by Malton and Norton who head the division one rankings on 21 points, one ahead of Fulford after three rounds.

Easingwold are the division two table-toppers on 13 points, although York and Scarthingwell - both having a game in hand - are adrift by only one point and two points respectively.

DOUBLE delight was the preserve of Magnus Roche after he left before the presentation ceremony to the St Leonard's Hospice tournament at Fulford GC.

Roche, a 20-handicap player from Kilnwick Percy GC, did not know that he had won the event's Peter Langron Trophy with 42 stableford points on count-back from Ken Hessay, plus a nearest the pin prize until he was contacted by colleague John Clark the day after.

Explained Roche: "I had arranged to go out for a celebration dinner so I wasn't at the presentation evening."

Hessay won the division one prize for 0-13 handicaps with John Horsfall (Fixby GC) winning the division two prize (14-20).

The team prize was won by Mary Lofthouse, the lady captain of Harrogate GC, Audrey Craven and Sheila Haffey, who today celebrates her 80th birthday. They scored 56 points to win on count-back. Fulford lady captain Angela Quickfall was a runner-up for the ladies' prize.

The day raised £9,000 for the Hospice Appeal to bring the total to £130,000 since the event was first held 22 years ago.

KILNWICK Percy GC's senior stableford series opening event saw Geoff Cooper take the honours on 37 points ahead of Malcolm Sharkey on 33, while in the second match Geoff Lumsden led with 40 followed by Cooper on 33 to leave Lumsden ahead of Cooper by 0.5 average overall.

The Huxtable Challenge Cup, meanwhile, was won by Mick Dagnall. His 39 points was matched by Graham Murray but he took the spoils on count-back. Toby Gowthorpe was third on 38 in the event played off a full handicap with a maximum 24 shots.

Both Gowthorpe and Chris Gunby won their matches in the earlier East Riding Union Scratch League match away to Scarborough South Cliff.

The Kilnwick Percy ladies' stableford was taken by Iona Buckle with 36 points to nudged Joy Biggin into second place.

In the 'away-day' at Bridlington Links, Kilnwick vice-captain Jenny Brooks led the field with 30 stableford points with club-mates Anne Beharrell and second and Christine Gillyon and Sue Hodgson third.

Tomorrow the club stages its men's invitation competition, comprising a pairs' betterball stableford.

HOME was literally where the heart was at a charity bonanza hosted at Pike Hills Golf Club.

The club's tenth annual event - the York Coronary Support Group tournament - realised around £6,400, supplemented by £352 donated by club member Chris Wilson after he undertook a 26-mile sponsored walk on the North Yorkshire moors.

That all took the amount amassed for the charity over the last decade to more than £46,000 to the delight of Dr Simon Megarry, consultant cardiologist at York District Hospital who attended the prize presentation.

And among the prize-winners were players largely from the host club. Pike Hills had success in the overall competition, the mixed event and the ladies' category.

IT took a concerted trawl through the cards to reveal the Forest Park GC pairing of Mike Ward and Malcolm Taylor as bagging the Forest of Galtres Invitation Day competition.

The duo tied with The York's Peter Renton and Arthur Williams with scores of nine-under 63. The rivals were equal on count-back on the inward nine, as they were on the last six. But Ward and Taylor's score of ten on the final three holes secured them the trophy by one shot.

FULFORD'S annual Fell Cup stableford was won by John Stringer on 42 points on count-back from David Brassey, while Matthew Kelly had the best gross of 68 - four-under-par - to win the first club championship qualifying round to go into the match-play stage.

EASINGWOLD GC's K Doherty won the 'Hall of Fame' qualifier at the club to make the regional final of the event to be held at Rotherham GC in August.

Updated: 11:07 Saturday, May 31, 2003