NORTHERN delight has sealed a searing summer for former Heworth Golf Club professional Neil Cheetham.

The man who spent several years at Heworth has finished top of the Professional Golfers' Association north region Order of Merit.

Cheetham's ascent was confirmed by his seventh placing in the final counting event, the Manchester Open at the De Vere Mottram Hall complex.

Cheetham, who now plays out of Barlborough Links, near Sheffield, finished on 208 for the three-round tournament, an eight-under-par total after rounds of 67 72 69. That yielded him £615 in prize money, but more significantly pole position and the Mike Slater Memorial Trophy in the Order of Merit final standings, where he finished 22 points ahead of his nearest challenger, Birchwood's Philip Archer.

There was another impressive North Yorkshire presence in the Order of Merit. Ganton GC professional Gary Brown was seventh overall after he finished joint 37th in the Manchester Open. He totalled 219 (71 74 74) as did Knaresborough's assistant professional Andrew Turner (72 74 73).

That latter performance ensured a Knaresborough double in the Order of Merit. Turner was 35th, while club pro' Gary Vickers was 29th.

SCOTS-BORN Iain Simpson scorched through Fulford GC to win the club's midweek medal and revel in a blazing pre-birthday bash.

Simpson, who plays off a handicap of plus one, scored a nine-under-par net 61 that featured eight birdies and an eagle, marred merely by a solitary bogey, as he triumphed by one shot over Bill Woodley.

The eagle, which was the icing on the cake the day before Simpson's 20th birthday, was bagged on Fulford's longest hole, the sixth, where he used a driver and a three-wood.

The latter shot fizzed through the green, but he regained command in style by chipping back into the hole.

Recently moving to York with his parents, Simpson has reached the last 16 of the Scottish amateur championship in two out of the last four years.

A CLEVER Trevor overturned the form-book in the Forest of Galtres GC knock-out finals.

Trevor Boddison beat the recently-crowned club champion, Gary Garbutt, 2 and 1 to win the scratch competition.

Terry Nicholson (12 handicap) edged out John Foo (13) to take the handicap knockout by the same margin.

The final putt on the 18th green enabled Ken Reeve/Angela Darlington to triumph over Keith Walker/Sonia Harris for the mixed pairs title, while in the handicap pairs Peter Graham/Alan McDonald took the title 2 and 1 from Dave Fotheringham/Jim Collis.

However, there was consolation for Fotheringham who, paired with Paul Anderson, sampled a 5 and 4 win in the EGGS pairs final over Keith Walker and Peter Lynch.

KILNWICK Percy GC's senior open - a pairs betterball stableford - was won by host club player David Kilford.

In partnership with H Leech (Driffield), Kilford swept to the triumph after notching 41 points.

They edged out Kilnwick Percy's Norman Turton and Pat Trail, who took second place from R Seely and E Davenport (Ashby Decoy), after both couples totalled 38.

The 'senior seniors' event, which featured players aged between 66 and 80, was won by Wetherby GC duo D Alexander and K Illingworth on 36 points.

A SINGULAR bear will be down in the 'woods' next month when Forest of Galtres GC will host the BBC North Yorkshire Children In Need golf day.

The event, which last year featured an appearance by Pudsey Bear, will be on Sunday, October 13 in a four-ball betterball stableford.

The entry fee for teams of four, both men and women, is £100 per team. Further details and entry forms can be obtained from the Forest of Galtres pro' shop tel (01904) 766198 or the secretary's office on (01904) 769400, or by visiting the website on www.forestofgaltres.co.uk

BOB-A-JOB flared in Allerthorpe Park's midweek medal where Bob Appleby squeezed home on count-back after he, Julian James and Ken Holt all scored 63.

Updated: 10:04 Saturday, September 28, 2002