ROB Leitch was crowned as Furness Golf Club’s 2015 champion after the Walney fairway king saw off top contender Wil Marklew.

The 39-year-old finished as runner-up and behind Marklew in June’s 36-hole strokeplay qualifier – with 12 players going through to contest the club championship, which began in July.

And Leitch turned the tables on Marklew by winning their club championship final 4&3 last weekend.

It was the first time Leitch has won the prestigious title – having tried to do so for at least the past decade – and he described the success as his biggest individual win.

“I’m very pleased – for lower handicappers, along with the Captain’s and President’s Day competitions, this is probably the main one to win,” said Leitch.

“It’s a great achievement to get my name up on a club board for however long it is kept up. It’s the main one really, out of them all, that a lower handicapper would want to try and win.

“The gross category of the Captain’s and President’s Days are big ones as well, because we have boards up for those as well. But I haven’t actually got my name on them so those are the other two that I would obviously like to try and win.”

Leitch received a bye in the first round before halving his initial match with quarter-final opponent George Coulter. Leitch prevailed in the re-match 3&1, before benefiting from another bye in the semi.

He had a tough task on his hands in the final with Leitch boasting a handicap of three, while the outstanding Marklew plays off scratch. He beat Steven McDonald on the final hole of their semi-final.

Commenting on the final Leitch said: “It was tough.

“I birdied the first and won the fourth with a par and then Wil won the fifth.

“And then we had a lot of close shaves with either putts or chips. I then got two up-and-downs on the 10th and 11th to keep me ahead.

“I birdied 12 and then Wil had a bogey on 13, so that meant that I went three up with five holes left and that gave me a bit of a cushion.

“I birdied 15 to close the game out.

“But it was a tough battle, handicap-wise Wil’s better than me so it’s a good achievement for me to beat someone who is better than me on paper. We both play in the scratch team so he is one of the main men we’ve got at our club.

“So I’m very pleased.”