GOLFING sisters Grainne Pendlebury and Sarah Riding narrowly missed out on winning a top regional competition.

The pair, nee Costello, teamed up to compete in the prestigious Northern Foursomes organised by England Golf.

They fought hard to reach the final of the competition which is open to all women golfers from Cheshire, Cumbria, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland and Yorkshire and is a major competition in women’s golf at the start of every season.

The Bolton Golf Club members reached the final by winning five rounds played over three days at Fleetwood Golf Club.

It was a hard-fought battle in difficult conditions and they only just managed to win their first four matches at the end of each round.

They won three of their matches on the 18th hole and one on the 21st to get through to the final where they narrowly lost to Debbie Finch and Ali Blackwell of Mere Golf Club, Cheshire.

Grainne, whose handicap is six – her sister's is nine – said: "The conditions were extremely poor with freezing temperatures which meant even holding on to the clubs was difficult.

"There was very heavy rain on Tuesday but it is a knockout competition and so they were the same conditions for everyone.

"We just took one shot at a time and despite everything really enjoyed ourselves and representing Bolton."