AFTER a two-week washout the sunshine returned to welcome a full field in the Manchester and District Golf Alliance, led by captain Dave Smith (Swinton Park), to Vale Royal Abbey Golf Club and the quality of the course and the warmth of the welcome was reflected in some great scoring.

Craig Corrigan showed his enduring class with a great double win, taking top spot in the individual pro section with 42 points, one more than Ben Stanier (Wilmslow) and Phil Archer (Birchwood).

Ollie Smith (Ashton-on-Mersey) was top assistant pro with 39 points.

Corrigan teamed up with Paul Cooney (Wigan) to post 46 points in the pro-am section for a fine double success, one more than Ben Chambers and Mark Baxendale (Swinton Park) and Ben Stanier and his Wilmslow colleague Ian Perkins.

It was tight in the am-am section with four pairs locked on 41 points.

The card play-off went in favour of Mark Gauci (Chorlton) and John Aikenhead (Ashton-on-Mersey) from Danny Fox and Steve Finan (Stamford), Paul Traynor and Brian Thomas (Stamford) and Mike Wallace and Brian Carroll (Bolton Old Links).

The draw has been made for the Manchester and District Ladies Bell Cup knockout competition.

It is the biggest inter-club competition of its kind for ladies in the UK and features more than 80 clubs in the area with their teams of seven ladies looking to make finals day for the last four at Bury Golf Club on Friday, September 1.

This is the home club of the MDLGA president Audrey Bird and it is the tradition of the competition that has been running for 106 years that the president’s club hosts finals day – unless her home team makes it through.

The holders of the Bell Cup are Dean Wood, Wigan – a very recent entrant into the competition – and they have been drawn to play at Wilpshire in the preliminary round.

The draw involving local clubs in the preliminary round is: Astbury v Ashton, Antrobus v Brookdale, Fairfield v Rochdale, Crompton and Royton v Haydock Park, Leyland v Saddleworth, North Manchester v Northenden.

In round one the draw so far is: Oldham v Buxton and High Peak, Great Lever and Farnworth v Denton and Birchwood v Dukinfield.