After overcoming some tough hurdles to become Sussex Ladies champion for the first time, Joanne Summers is preparing for examinations of a different kind this week.

While the Sussex team which she might have been part of compete in Counties Week at Highgate, Joanne will be revising hard for an important exam on Wednesday.

Good marks are vital to her banking career with HSBC and, at 24, the only way for Joanne is up.

At the Worthing branch she works in invoice finance and only manages to play once or twice a week at her Mid Sussex club.

But a lack of practice didn't stop her triumphing at Crowborough and becoming Sussex champion for the first time. This stacked-up nicely with the county girls' title she won seven years ago before going on to captain the British Girls Universities team during her time at Exeter.

A golf scholarship there was shortly followed by another, this time awarded by the R&A, which entitled her to a grant towards expenses. Joanne was the first recipient, thus smoothing the way for an easier golfing life away from lectures and swotting.

At Exeter, Joanne gained BA honours in French and German but linguistic ability, not to mention golf off a handicap of three, is one of several strings to her bow.

Only a chance visit to Worthing with a cousin started Joanne in golf as a 12-year-old. She explained: "Steve Rolley, the professional and his assistant, had started giving lessons for girls. I think the charge was 50p and £1 and I went with my cousin.

"As it turned out she never took to golf but I liked it and the club opened up a special membership for eight girls.

"My parents had stopped playing but when I became interested and they were taking me to lessons they started again. My starting handicap was 36 and I got down to 25 in a year and by the time I was 15 my handicap was ten. A year on and I was four and in the county team."

Success was not very far away. She won the Sussex Girls' title in 1997 but studies took priority and, as part of her degree course at Exeter, Joanne spent three months in Germany at a hotel complex and worked for the president of the German PGA. Another bonus to her language studies was working at Disneyland near Paris.

In 2001, Joanne reached the final of the Sussex Ladies' Championship at Cooden Beach before losing to Chloe Court and last year she went out in the semi-finals to Karen Sykes.

What about the future? "Right now I am concentrating on work," she said. "Hopefully in the future I might try and play in bigger things."