Local Golf: JAMES Harper has revealed how a ruthless approach finally gave him his first head-to-head victory over close friend and Seaton stablemate Hugh Hamilton and earned him the coveted Durham County Matchplay Championship.

Harper finally broke his duck against pal Hamilton last Saturday, beating his Durham teammate 3 and 1 to win the prestigious matchplay title at Eaglescliffe.

And the ambitious 25-year-old believes it was his decision to adopt a rather 'unfriendly' approach to the final that gave him the edge in his see-saw battle with his close clubmate.

"I totally blocked him out for the whole match," said Harper, who defeated Boldon's Gavin Nesbit 3 and 2 in the semi-final.

"It's not exactly the most friendly thing to do but I just treated him like I didn't know him and it worked.

"I found I was more focused on what I was doing."

The approach certainly reaped instant dividends as Hamilton found himself five down after only six holes as Harper produced scintillating birdies at the second, third and fifth holes.

Missing his chance to go six up at the tenth when his 13ft birdie putt horseshoed out, Harper then saw his lead reduced to three as Hamilton, who had earlier produced some magical form to oust Barnard Castle's Robert Dinwiddie at the semi-final stage, birdied both the 11th and 12th.

The fightback had taken its toll on Harper, who then three-putted the 13th to reduce his advantage to two, only for Hamilton to squander the chance to cut into the lead further after he missed a four-foot putt at the 15th.

Bolstered by his opponent's apparent profligacy, Harper sank a 12-footer at the next hole for a half and then birdied the 17th to take the title.

"I never really felt I was going to lose," said Harper.

"I got off to a great start but then played some daft holes which let him back in but I always felt in control."

Harper is now looking forward to competing in his first British Mid-Amateur Championship at St Andrews on August 13-17 and hopes his victory at Eaglescliffe can act as a springboard to further success.

"The next step is to try to qualify for some of the bigger amateur events, such as the English amateur," said Harper, who now works as a mechanical engineer in Morpeth.

The 25-year-old is even toying with the idea of turning professional.

"I have given it a lot of thought recently," he said.

"My job is great but playing golf for a living is something that I have always wanted to do."

* Nick Dougherty answered critics of his 'playboy' lifestyle in the perfect fashion in the Scandic Carlsberg Scandinavian Masters yesterday.

Dougherty added a second-round 69 to his opening 67 for an eight-under-par halfway total of 136 in Malmo, three shots ahead of former Walker Cup teammate Luke Donald, ex-Ryder Cup captain Mark James and Holland's Maarten Lafeber.

The 21-year-old has been suffering from glandular fever since May and the debilitating illness has seen him struggle on the course and sleep for more than 17 hours at a time off it.

But the protg of six-time Major winner Nick Faldo, who lists one of his interests as 'socialising', has also had to cope with comments about his colourful lifestyle.