Aileen Greenfield's persistent quest to become Sussex Ladies champion has at last been successful.

After 20 years of trying, she succeeded when de-throning Chloe Court at Royal Ashdown Forest.

Laser surgery on both eyes six months ago brought a change of luck.

The 5 & 4 victory for the Pyecombe 36-year-old working mum of two sons came in her eighth final appearance.

Aileen lost her first final to Carol Larkin when she was 16 years old.

The births of Ben, 5 and Matthew 7, meant she missed two subsequent attempts. Then came years of disappointment as a series of challengers left Aileen a looker-on at a string of awards ceremonies.

At her last final appearance in 2000, Aileen was runner-up to Joanne Summers.

For sheer doggedness and belief in her own ability, Aileen takes the palm.

If her spirits were ever at a low ebb she bravely concealed her inner feelings.

This time laser surgery to dispense with contact lenses and winter training with Tim Packham at West Sussex, paid off.

For England international Chloe it was only a second defeat in a Sussex final.

Both finalists made it with 4 & 3 victories in the morning when there was no sign of the Goodwood girl suddenly losing her edge.

Chloe said: "I played well in the semi-final but not in the afternoon, but I wouldn't take anything away from Aileen. She played brilliantly."

Aileen, in floods of tears when they went into a hug on the 14th green, had hardly been aware of husband, Trevor, in the gallery, so great was her concentration. "I cannot believe I've won at last," she sobbed.

When Chloe headed the 16 qualifiers for the matchplay by seven shots on 152, there was little indication of an upset.

But once the final got underway it was Aileen who steamed into a three-hole lead by the sixth. A welcome relief in the heat was a 30-minute wait at the same hole during her 5 & 4 defeat of Paul Carver in the quarter-final because of a sprinkler fault that repeatedly sprayed the green.

At the turn the difference was still three. Chloe uncharacteristically topped a fairway wood going for the eighth green and left her putt short when it was vital to pull a hole back.

If there was a turning point it came at the ninth when Aileen luckily just avoided heather at the front of the green and got her par. Although Chloe matched it, there was not the slightest trace that Aileen was in a mood to give anything away, even though she was consistently outdriven from the tee.

Poor Chloe lost a ball with a hooked fairway wood at the tenth and the lead increased to five at the next when, not for the first time, Chloe gave her putt the charge and missed the return.

Suddenly, the defending champion showed her mettle, booming a huge drive down the sun-baked 12th and outdistancing Aileen by a good 30 yards. The 485-yard hole held no fears for Chloe, on in two with an iron and down went a four-yard eagle putt.

Nerves started to jingle at the 13th when Aileen missed a tiddler to go dormy, but the end was not far away. Closer to the stick at the 14th from the tee, Aileen made sure of her par while Chloe, too strong with her first putt, saw the return whizz past which left too much to do.