Craig Newman has become the youngest winner of the Sussex Amateur Championship.

The 17-year-old, who plays off five, is the highest handicap to win the tournament, which is now in its 92nd year.

Craig has only been playing for three and a half years. Now he will represent his county on the national stage when the Tournament Of English Champions is played at Woodhall Spa in September.

He is the third winner in a row from Worthing , following the successes of Joe Doherty and Scott Nightingale.

His qualifying score gave no hint of four unbeatable matchplay performances which culminated in the 3 & 1 defeat of James Harper at West Sussex.

Harper, 21, studies at Brighton University and is a member at Royal Eastbourne where he plays off three.

But Craig saw his chance and took it with both hands, much to the delight of father Paul, who is a director of Worthing, and Steve Rolley, the club professional and coach.

In the final, James went behind at the sixth where Craig holed a ten foot birdie putt and at the turn had increased his lead to two holes.

Too many visits to the heather prevented a revival and when Craig rifled a superb second to the heart of the 14th green the lead was three and there was no way back for a gallant opponent.

There have been teenage winners before including Max Harris, whose hat-trick of victories began in 1996.

Ifield's Ian Sheppard was 18 when he won in 1965 and Nick Mitchell 19 in 1980.

Craig's qualifying 143 hardly suggested him as possible winner. A double-bogey in his second round of 72 had him wondering if a place in the final 16 for the matchplay had slipped by.

Joint qualifying leaders on 136, Steve Graham and Russell Cronin, then experienced the ups and downs of head-to-head golf.

Former England international Graham, who curiously has never won the Sussex title, went out in the first round. He lost to Ben Evans, 16, whose entry into the England Boys' ranks arrived last year.

Ben, a Millfield schoolboy who plays at Rye and ESN, was out in 31 and polished Graham off by 3 & 2.

Cronin, the newly-crowned Sussex Colts champion from West Hove, also failed to get beyond the first round, losing out to Worthing's Arwell Roberts.

Young local hope Ralph Kennedy was stopped from making the semi-final by Littlehampton's Wayne Hawes at the 21st. At the 18th and putting for a par to go through, Kennedy's tentative effort lipped-out from 12 inches and Hawes went on to be decisively beaten by Newman.

Harper, who hails from Guildford, needed all his wits to knock out young Evans in the semi-finals by one hole. After 45 years Littlehampton are the team champions.