KITANA HOLLINS looks set for an exciting new year after bringing the curtain down on a memorable 2014.

The talented teenager from West Rainton has enjoyed one success story after another over the last seven months and her achievements ended in England Golf recognition.

Not only did the 14-year-old win the Lee Westwood Golf Scholarship programme at Close House, she then won the northern section of the Lee Westwood Tour Order of Merit.

But she was unable to make the Grand Final in Lincolnshire because the day fell on her first training session with the England Golf North region squad at Matfen Hall.

On top of those Hollins won the Durham County Union Appleby Bowl and claimed runner-up spot in the Durham and Northumberland Stroke Play Junior Championship.

All of those contributed to the Belmont Community School pupil’s call-up for England Under-16s North trials and she was successful.

“She has made great progress this year,” said her father, Keith Hollins. “She plays her golf out of Ramside and Close House and she has worked extremely hard to get to the level she is at now.

“What I’ve said to her, though, is that it’s like having a big ladder in front of her and she’s climbed the next rung. It’s about not getting carried away, but she has been progressing really well.”

Kitana helped Close House to team championship glory with an individual record of nine wins without defeat too and Belmont have granted her permission to play for Durham Sixth Form College in the British Intercollegiate Team League.

Keith said: “Kitana came home from school one day when she was ten asking to take up golf because she had tried it in after-school club with plastic clubs. She was buzzing and really took to it. She’s now down to a handicap of six.”

RISING North-East golfer Garrick Porteous ended the year by claiming a third place finish in the Titleist/FootJoy England Golf Men’s Order of Merit for 2013.

Porteous, from Morpeth, was the region’s only representative at the Open Championship at Muirfield in the summer.

The 23-year-old won the British Amateur Championship, which earned him 50,000 points on the Order of Merit, a further 30,000 for winning the Scottish Open Stroke Play and over 24,000 for a runner-up spot at the Welsh Open Stroke Play.

He was around 17,000 points shy of eventual Merit winner Max Orrin (North Foreland, Kent), who experienced many golfing highlights including being a member the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team.

He topped the list with 122,056 points, almost 15,000 more than his England and Walker Cup team-mate Callum Shinkwin (Moor Park, Hertfordshire), while two more Walker Cup men, Porteous (Bamburgh Castle) with 105,215 points was third and Jordan Smith (Bowood G&CC, Wiltshire.