JOYCE Ferrie spent an anxious day sitting in front of the television watching her son in the form of his life leading the Open.

The Ashington-born golfer was a 250/1 rank outsider when the Open Championship got underway at Royal Troon.

Joyce, who still lives in Ashington, said: "I wasn't going to watch it all, I just switched on the television to see what was going on.

"When I saw Kenneth's name at the top of the leaderboard I couldn't quite believe my eyes. I spent the rest of the day sitting nervously in front of the television. I was willing him not to muck things up. So far he's done us all proud."

The former British Boys champion may have failed to win so far in 2004 but the bookies odds of 66/1 on him finishing top Brit were starting to look pretty generous last night.

So who is Kenneth Ferrie?

* Born in Ashington, Northumberland he first picked up a golf club at the age of just seven. But he looked every inch the seasoned pro yesterday as he showed the world's best golfers the way to go.

* Young Kenneth decided to become a golfer when his older brother Iain and his dad John took up the sport. Iain is a fully qualified PGA professional himself. They may once have been rivals but the whole family are roaring him on.

* He has a pet Alsatian cross called Tyson. The dog was named after the world champion boxer and Ferrie certainly displayed his own knockout tactics yesterday.

* Ferrie's teachers at Hirst High School, in Ashington, soon recognised his potential. He joined the school golf team when he was 13, playing against much older boys.

* On leaving school he won a golf scholarship to Midland College, in Texas, and spent two years learning the sport in the United States. Yesterday even Tiger Woods couldn't match his performance.

* He now lives in a posh Newcastle flat that was once a cigarette factory - and he was certainly smokin' on the course yesterday.

* Kenneth's long suffering mum Joyce is a pretty mean golfer herself. "With my husband and my two sons both playing I couldn't face being a golf widow," she said.