IT'S getting near to crunch time in the Winter League at Styal Golf Club.

The current hot shots in the aggregate scoring are Matthew Sutcliffe 175, Jeffrey Chadwick 174, John McBryer 171 and Nick Gillings 169.

The formidable Bloor family led in a Two-from-Three stableford at Styal, with Ian and Tom Bloor partnering D Chester to a winning score of 74 points.

They led in from A Jones, Don Campbell and A Ghost 73, and Harry Reid, Mike Burchell and Jeffrey Chadwick 72.

Manchester Golf Club juniors will be defending the Manchester Alliance Williams BMW Junior Challenge Trophy in 2018 when once more the final will take place at Lowes Park GC, Bury.

There are just a handful of games in the preliminary round but among those receiving a bye into round one are Styal, who are previous winners of the competition.

The first round of the Manchester and District Alliance’s Scratch Knockout has been completed and last year’s winner Alistair Waddell of Styal Golf Club is through after beating Ben Thompson of Hazel Grove.

He now takes on Anthony Millar (Ellesmere), who beat Nick Holmes (Bury).

The rest of the draw is: Rob Batchelor (Stand) v Andrew Terry (Whitefield), Graham Cox (Lymm)v Charles le Sueur (Alderley Edge), Andy Palmer (Chorley) v Paul Grannell (Vale Royal Abbey), Phil Archer (Birchwood) v Ollie Smith (Ashton-on-Mersey), Tim Maxwell (Knutsford) v Martin Longshaw (Haigh Hall), Dave Smith (Swinton Park) v Colin Maroney, Grant Hamerton (Pike Fold) v Mark Smith (Stamford).

The players will be aiming to reach finals day at Ashton-on-Mersey on Sunday, April 8.