Jack Budgen's victory in the Sussex Amateur championship was not entirely unexpected.

At 18, and in his first year as a colt, Budgen is the second of that age group in succession to lift the trophy.

Craig Newman was the youngest ever winner at West Sussex last year.

Jack is a few months older and has been a name to watch since winning the Sussex Boys' title in 2000. He has played for England under-16s and made the under-18s squad twice.

A former pupil at Sackville Community College, East Grinstead, Budgen now works part time at the Burgess Hill Golf Centre and plays out of East Sussex National having relinquished his membership at Lewes.

At Highwoods, he was well down the list of 16 qualifiers for the matchplay and ten strokes behind three times champion Martin Galway who led the field on 134.

But head to head is another game and it was Budgen, in the semi-final, who knocked out Steve Graham whom knowledgeable observers thought would win this year at long last.

Steve was a beaten finalist 14 years ago and, off plus-two, was the lowest of the 92 competitors.

Unaccountably, Graham's game fell to pieces on the second nine and Budgen stayed calm to go through by 5 & 4.

Colin Jones, who defends his Sussex Mid Age Championship at Ham Manor on Thursday, had a much closer call when removing Stephen Stark 2 & 1.

The Brighton & Hove prospect birdied the 11th to take the lead, only to bogey the next two, while Jones reeled off vital pars.

The crucial hole was the 17th where Stark's drive ended up in a fir tree and the penalty drop cost him a chance of meeting a friend in the final.

The golf bug bit Budgen at the age of eight thanks to his father who caddied in the championship and bearly spoke a word to his son.

This was a welcome contrast to those well meaning dads who dog the divot marks of their offspring, often distracting them with a constant stream of largely unwanted advice.

En route to the final, Jack had a close call. Stuart McGowan matched him shot for shot until a snaky 20-footer dropped on the 18th green and the Slinfold man missed from five feet. The final was nothing like as traumatic.

After 12 holes, Budgen was coasting at five up, which emphasised the difference between a player who seldom goes a day without a club in his hand and a 42-year-old opponent who works in the City as a marketing manager for a bank. It is a tribute to Jones, who only plays on average once a week at Ifield, that he made the final.

Winning the Sussex Mid Age Championship testifies to the soundness of his game that comes second to family commitments.

Out in one under, Budgen's grip was so tight that it was not until the eighth that Jones won a hole.

He reduced the lead towards the end but, in losing 4 & 3, never matched the silky putting touch of a rival underhalf his age and who only employed his Big Bertha 11 on three occasions.