Young golfer John has a bright future after European success

Fourteen-year-old John Wilding, of Garstang, finished 27th out of 102 entries in the European Junior Golf Open Finals in Andalucia, Spain.

The Heysham and Lancaster Golf Club member was accompanied on the trip by his coach Ryan Done and Heysham’s junior captain Matthey Bargh – who acted as his caddy.

Heysham’s club professional Done is already convinced of Wilding’s star quality.

“John has a great future in golf,” he said.

Wilding was introduced to the game by his father – Gastang FC chairman Adrian – at the age of six and he has thrived ever since.

Now the Garstang Community High School Year 10 pupil has set his sights on gaining national recognition after competing with some of Europe’ top prodigies in Spain.

Wilding said: “It was a great feeling. Everyone was older than me because it was an Under-18s tournament. It was very hard because the conditions are a lot different because of the weather.

“My aim was to make the cut and I did a lot better than I thought. Now my next step is to try and enter the British boys’ Under-16s team and get to the European event again.”

A spokesman from his school said: “We are thrilled that John performed very well in a strong European field.

“He achieved this with some excellent play on very difficult courses. He represented his school, club and county – and everyone is very proud of his achievements.”