GARETH Hastie moved to second in the list of all-time winners after claiming his sixth BGA Bolton Golf Championship.

The Bolton Golf Club member won the title at Great Lever and Farnworth last night, beating home-course favourite and defending champion Danny Hunt 4&3.

A nip-and-tuck final was all square after nine holes, but Hastie turned the screw on the back nine and eventually sealed the title with a par on the 15th.

Starting with four straight pars, he went two up after four holes and then hit a rare bad shot on the fifth to lose the hole. Hastie won the sixth to regain his two-hole advantage, before succumbing to a Hunt fightback.

The home favourite managed an easy two-putt on the eighth to win with a par, then pulled it back all-square with a birdie to end the outward nine.

Hastie produced two great shots to find the green on the par-five 10th and two putts won the hole.

Hunt then over-hit his second shot to the 11th and did not manage to get up and down to go two down.

Pars by both players on 12 and 13 kept Hastie two up and he stretched his lead on the 14th when Hunt missed the green with his second shot and failed to get up and down in two.

Both players looked to be feeling the pressure as they missed the green on the par-three 15th, watched by a crowd of more than 150 spectators huddled around a very small tee.

The defending champion had a tree in his line to the pin so had to play towards the front of the green, while Hastie produced a fantastic chip to four feet and holed his putt after Hunt missed his par attempt.

Hastie's sixth title puts him four behind legend Jack Taylor, who won it 10 times between 1947 and 1968.

The ladies’ championship will be decided today at Turton Golf Club when one-time winner Grainne Pendlebury goes up against three-time champion Laura Johnson.

Pendlebury, of Bolton, beat Harwood’s Clare Macleod 5&4 in yesterday’s semi-finals, while Johnson, of Old Links, overcame Debbie Dacre, also of Harwood, 7&5.

The final will start at 3.30pm, before which reigning champion Rita Towler, of Harwood, will bid to retain her seniors title when she tees off at 3pm against Chorley's Ruth Scanlon.

Towler won her semi-final by two holes against home favourite Chris Tobin, while Scanlon beat Dunscar's Karon Unsworth 3&2.