Top marks for Toni-Louise Naylor in Yorkshire Ladies' title triumph

One year on and the 17-year-old not only debuted as part of the White Rose team that won the title for the third year in a row, at Huddersfield, but she also passed all four of the tests that were set for her to finish the week as the only Yorkshire player with a perfect record.

‘The Green Army’, as the Yorkshire Ladies’ County Golf Association team are known, finished top of the class in the five-day, five-match round robin event against Lancashire, Cheshire, Cumbria, Northumberland and Durham.

Naylor won three times in foursomes partnership with Woodsome Hall’s Melissa Wood and was also a comfortable 3&2 winner in her sole singles match, which gave her a two-out-of-two record on day one when Yorkshire beat Cumbria 8-1 in an encounter that effectively decided the title outcome on game points after boths sides tied with four wins and a loss apiece.

“It is the first time I have played in Northern Counties Match Week for Yorkshire,” said Naylor.

“I was gutted about last year, particularly when I found out they had won it as well. And they went on to win the English, which was brilliant.”

She was called into action for Yorkshire’s first three sessions of play – in foursomes and singles against Cumbria and Northumberland in foursomes – but then was consigned to a spectating role until winning in the morning alongside Wood on the final day against Cheshire.

She acknowledged that she found the role of spectator a difficult one, but accepts that Yorkshire captain Helen Lilley and coach Lysa Jones made all their selections with the overall outcome in mind.

“Helen and Lysa decided the team. It is difficult because you just want to play all the time, but they put the best teams out and that is how we want it. It was good selection because we won.”

Her partnership with Wood produced a maximum three points, but not without a couple of alarms – one of which saw them produce an outstanding finish.

“On the second day against Northumberland Melissa and I were two down playing the 15th,” recalled Naylor.

“We played quite well together overall, but that morning on the front nine we just couldn’t get anything together, it wasn’t going our way.”

“As we stood on the 15th tee I said to Melissa, ‘we just need to win every hole’ and that’s what we did.

“We finished birdie-par-birdie-eagle to win one up.

“We were down in a match on the last day as well and we managed to pull it around.

“I think it is a lot easier playing foursomes because you have someone to talk to and it takes your mind off the golf really where as in singles you’ve only got yourself and golf is all you think about. We just tried to have a laugh and keep going.”

Naylor revelled in the challenge of playing a difficult Fixby track in extremely breezy conditions.

“I really love Huddersfield, I think it’s great,” she said. “The views are great, the course is great, and the greens are always good. I have played it quite a few times before in Yorkshire events.”

Two years ago she just missed the stroke play cut that decided who would take part in the match play stage of the county championship at Huddersfield on countback. But it freed up her weekend to play in the Waterton Park monthly medal, which she won with a 70 that dipped two shots below the previous ladies’ course record.

She joined Sand Moor to play junior team golf as Waterton Park do not have a junior side.

But she still plays most of her golf at Waterton Park and this weekend will attempt to win the ladies’ championship for an astonishing sixth successive time.