COUNTY DURHAM golfer Chris Handy has clinched a national title to become the first member of South Moor Golf Club in its 92-year history to do so.

The 18-year-old displayed all of his course craft to cope with winds of up to 20mph around Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, to finish three shots clear of Shropshire’s Conor White in the English Boys’ County Champion of Champions tournament.

Handy sealed his place as Durham County’s representative at the 36-hole event by capturing their boys’ title for the second time, having also won the Under-16s title twice.

Following his success at Woodhall Spa he is heading for the Faldo Series Under-18s final in Berlin at the end of this month, following his victory in the northern qualifier at Pleasington in Blackburn.

Handy, who lives in Tanfield Lea, first won the South Moor club championship as a 14-year-old and this summer captured the title for the third time in four years.

He is described by coach Andrew Nicholson as “a great ball striker” and he rifled the ball to within six feet of the flag on four of the first five holes at Woodhall Spa in returning the lowest score of the day with a one-under 72 for the first round.

Two shots ahead at that stage, he signed for a two-over 75 after lunch to finish one over for a day which brought him ten birdies.

“I got off to such a good start I didn’t really have a testing putt for ages,” said Handy, who reckoned that contributed to him three-putting five times. “If my putting had been going as well as the rest of my game, I would have had a great score.

“I played well on the front nine in both rounds, but missed fairways on the back and if you do that on this course it makes it hard. The wind switched in the afternoon and made the tough holes a bit longer.”

Handy, who had ten birdies during the day, was watched by parents James and Anne, his mother having two reasons to celebrate because the tournament was played on her 52nd birthday. James, his father, is a former Durham and South Moor captain.

Chris said: “In the five years since I started playing national events, I estimate my parents have driven over 35,000 miles taking me to tournaments round the country. I am grateful to them as I am for the Durham County coaching system. This has enabled me to be coached by Andrew Nicholson since I was ten years old which has been a major factor in my development.”

Nicholson, based at Wynyard, is the European Director of Coaching for the David Leadbetter Golf Academy.

And Nicholson said: “The Durham County Bursary Program is the first of its kind in the UK offering a three-year structured coaching program for kids aged 10, 11 and 12.

“Chris became the first England international from that program when he played for the Under-16s and Jack Ainscough, from Hartlepool, was the second. I am very proud of what I have created in Durham County and Chris is at the heart of its success.

“He has a great family unit, very supportive and loving. His strengths lie in his incredible club head speed, especially for a relatively slight player standing 5ft 8in and weighing 10st.”

This year hard working Handy, who has an average drive of 275 yards, has combined success on the golf course with impressive A-level results at St Bede’s Sixth Form College in Lanchester – an A* in maths and Bs in further mathematics and business.

Handy is taking a gap year in 2016 to play as many national tournaments as possible before choosing a college scholarship in America.

Nicholson said: “Chris is a bright young man and he will have great times in the USA working on his golf alongside his education.

“His long game is his strength. We still have al lot of work to do before he heads to his US college. He would like to improve his putting initially and also some of his course management strategies. We are not thinking of how far he can go - just of him enjoying the challenges each upward step meets.”

Durham’s other representatives in the men’s and seniors’ sections did not enjoy the same sort of success.

Brancepeth Castle’s Richard Aisbitt carded an eight over par two-round total to finish adrift of men’s winner William Bowe (Cumbria), while Mike Baker’s 18 over tally in the seniors saw him finish 15 shots shy of Surrey’s Keith Waters.

Leading Boys' scores: 147 Chris Handy (Durham County) 72 75; 150 Conor White (Shropshire) 77 73, Jack Dyer (Essex) 74 76; 151 Robert Cull (Cheshire) 80 71; 155 Harrison Ottley-Wood (Gloucs) 80 75, Jack Hawksby (Beds) 77 78; 157 Macauley Sutcliffe (Derbyshire) 83 74, Jamie Amor (Wilts) 79 78; 158 George Muscroft (Yorks) 79 79, Lewis Bird (Berks) 79 79, William Postlethwaite (Cumbria) 76 82.