DUNSCAR duo Stephen Greenough and Mark Riley had an anxious wait before they qualified for a final spot in the prestigious International Pairs competition writes David Magilton

The low handicap pair were one of the first out in the semi-finals and had to wait for four nail-biting hours before their place in the final was confirmed.

Eight local golfers won their club events to earn themselves an all-expenses paid trip to Dublin for the semi-finals at the impressive Citywest championship course, but it was only the Dunscar pair that produced their best form.

Four pairs from the semis qualified for another all-expenses trip to the final in Ireland in October and the Dunscar duo finished third with 37 points - just two behind the winners.

"We had played the course the previous day and set out to score two points on each hole. It was very windy and testing and we were happy to record 37 points," admitted Greenough, who then joked that he thought the chance of qualifying had gone when his partner, trying to lay up short on the 18th, went into the water.

"I wasn't surprised as he had lost seven balls in the water the previous day," he chuckled.

Two of the other pairs, Brian Cole and Fred Guest of Turton and Paul and David Tatton of Marriott Worsley Park, are all well-known local cricketers who have successfully changed sports. They did not trouble the scorers on this occasion as the Turton pair scored 28 points and the Tatton brothers 29 points.

Bury pair David Drew and Gary Waites were disappointed to finish with 32 points after showing good form before the event.