DI Payne (Hereford) retained the Hereford-shire Ladies' County Championship when she fired a gross 85 to hold off the challenge of club colleague Sue Mawby and Helen Green (South Hereford) by a single shot at Belmont.

Sapey's Tina Woold-ridge, playing in the last group, posted the winning nett score when she bettered host club captain Viv Jury's score of 72 - which she set in the first match of the day - by three shots.

Results, gross: 1 Di Payne (Hereford) 85, 2 Sue Mawby (Hereford) 86, 3 Helen Green (South Hereford) 86; nett: 1 Tina Wooldridge (Sapey) 88-19-69, 2 Viv Jury (Belmont) 99-27-72, 3 Dinah Johnston (Ross) 90-13-77; silver: 1 Silvana Whitton (Ross) 94-20-74, 2 Julie Saych (Burghill Valley) 92-17-75, 3 Carol Gardner (Leominster) 95-18-77; bronze: 1 Martha Norton (Belmont) 104-24-80, 2 Sheila Jackson (Ross) 105-23-82, 3 Doreen Brown (Burghill Valley) 107-24-83.

Team (three best nett scores from four): 1 Belmont 230 (Viv Jury, Martha Norton, Penny Caves and Scarlet Knipe), 2 Hereford 234 (Emma Harris, Di Payne, Sue Mawby and Katy Edwards), 3 Leominster 238 (Jean Ashcroft, Geraldene Kelly, Pauline Webb and Carol Gardner).

n Host club member Martha Norton pipped Norma Hebdon (Ross) on a card countback to win Belmont's popular Cream Teas nine-hole open stableford.

Results: 1 Martha Norton (Belmont) 20 points, 2 Norma Hebdon (Ross) 20, 3 Melanie Fairbrother (Burghill Valley) 19; nearest the pin: Val Carpenter (Burghill Valley); longest drive: Corinne Mills (Puckrup).

n Leominster's Mavis Peplow and Maisie Legge advanced to the fourth round of the national Millennium Foursomes knockout with a fine one up victory at Belmont.

June medal, silver: Geraldene Kelly 88-15-73; bronze: 1 Margaret Pitt 99-29-70, 2 Pauline Webb 96-21-75.

The ladies team came out 4-0 home winners in their friendly match with Hereford.