HOT prospect Sam Brooke has become the first Dorset player to lift the coveted South West Counties boys’ under-14s championship.

The 13-year-old left-hander from Parkstone carded a gross 75 to finish two shots ahead of Long Ashton’s Nathan Moore at Taunton Vale.

Brooke’s fine performance in the blustery conditions must have impressed the regional and England selectors who watched the up-and-coming players.

The top three under-14 players from Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Cornwall, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire took part in the event which began in 2008.

Dorset’s other selected players were Tom Seville (Parkstone) and Billy Hathaway (Weymouth) who finished 11th and 14th respectively.

Brooke, who captains Dorset’s under-14 team, is in a rich vein of form, winning this year’s Queens Park Junior Open. He is also the county’s reigning under-13 champion.

The six-handicapper is also unbeaten in this season’s three inter-county matches against Wiltshire, Hampshire and Somerset.

Brooke, who attends Bournemouth Collegiate School, started playing golf at the age of four, learning his early skills at the Mike Dodd Academy at Sturminster Marshall.

During his fledgling years, Brooke qualified for the US Kids European Golf Championships in Scotland and the Wee Wonders event at St Andrews.

For the past four years, Brooke has developed his game as a member of the thriving junior section at Parkstone.

Among this year’s targets for Brooke is to qualify and win the under-14 titles in England, Scotland and Wales. All three events take place in August.

“One of my long-term ambitions is to qualify and play in the Open Championship and be the first British left-handed golfer to achieve this,” said Brooke, whose hero is fellow left-hander Phil Mickelson.

  • Three-handicapper George Carroll was the best-placed Dorset player in the under-16s event, played on the same day at Taunton Vale.

The Dorset Golf and Country Club star carded a 74 to finish seventh – three shots behind winner Kobe Adams (Taunton & Pickeridge GC).