MALTON & Norton Golf Club's David Hague helped Yorkshire win the Northern Counties' Golf Union's Men’s County Qualifying Championship.

England amateur star Hague was in the six-man White Rose team that topped the leaderboard at the Wynyard Golf Club in County Durham, beating six other counties to the title after 36 holes of strokeplay.

Victory saw them regain the trophy they last won in 2016 and they will now go on to represent North of England in the England Golf Men’s County Championship at Aldeburgh Golf Club next month.

All the scores from the six-man teams counted for each round, with the 42 players teeing it up in the event including some notable high achievers over recent months such as Trevor Foster, who won the British Seniors Amateur Championship at Royal Porthcawl a few days earlier, and Nick Poppleton, the 2018 Brabazon Trophy winner.

In the morning round, five of the Yorkshire team, including Hague, recorded sub-par rounds as they came in for lunch with a total score of 420.

Dan Bradbury had a six-under-par round of 66 and was backed by Bailey Gill (68), David Hague (69), Ben Hutchinson (69), Poppleton (71) and Sam Bairstow (77).

But they had only a slim three-shot lead with Cheshire hot on their heels with a score of 423, followed by defending champions Northumberland on 428, hosts Durham on 429, Cumbria on 435, Lancashire on 436 and the Isle of Man on 455.

With the uncomfortably hot temperatures of recent weeks subsiding and the course playing very fairly for all of the golfers, a close finish was expected.

Cheshire showed great consistently in the afternoon, recording a second round 425 for an overall total of 848 - 16 under par for their 12 rounds.

Yorkshire, therefore, had it all to do if they wanted to win this championship for the third time in the last five years.

But they played superbly consistent golf, recording a score of 424 for a 20-under-par championship total of 844 and a four-shot victory.

In third place on 860 were Northumberland, with Cumbria on 863, Lancashire on 864, Northumberland on 874 and the Isle of Man on 917.

The individual honours for the championship went to Cheshire's Lewis George, who with 133 had the best 36-hole score for the second consecutive year.