After near misses in both the Ladies Mersey Shield and the Mixed Mersey Bowl where they were runners-up, Didsbury finally struck Mersey gold with a comprehensive win in the Men’s Mersey Shield.

Over 200 players took part in the day-long battle hosted by Didsbury, who managed to get the course in great condition despite some horrendous wet weather in the days leading up to the event.

The top six scores in the BB Stableford competition aggregate for the final totals and Didsbury racked up the second highest-ever total in the long-running competition.

Led by Lee Pierce and Kevin Pringle with a massive haul of 48 points they posted a final winning total of 269 points to finish well clear of Sale on 254, Chorlton (250} and Northenden and Withington, both 240.

The other Didsbury scorers were Nick Sutton and Rob Anderson 45, Geoff and Nigel Massey, Keith Thompson and Paul Slevin and Ian Swindells and Rob Caruana, all 44, and Ian Bailey and Bert Richardson 43.

The only other players in the frame were Martin Hannam and Chris Diggle (Sale, 47) and Steve Price and Howard Johnston (Sale, 44).