A BARTON Peveril student, who once dreamed of becoming a professional footballer with AFC Bournemouth, has just won the South of England Boys Golf Championship.

David Butwell, from Warsash, came from nowhere to clinch the title at Yeovil this week. The 16-year-old one-handicapper was a huge 14 shots off the lead going into the last two rounds and admitted: "My only thought then was making the halfway cut."

When the championship switched from Sherbourne to Yeovil for the third round, Butwell began to make his move, shooting a one-over-par 73 in tough, testing conditions to pick up five shots on the leader, Robert McGregor.

The recently-crowned Romsey champion thought he had thrown away his chances, though, when he was three over after three holes of his final round.

His dad, Keith, said: "He could have thrown in the towel there and then, but responded magnificently with six birdies and an eagle!"

It swept Butwell to a four-under 68, good enough to take him into a tie for the lead and sudden death play-off for the title with Alex McGregor, brother of the halfway leader.

McGregor had to hole a 20-feet birdie putt to stop Butwell winning at the first extra hole then, after they had halved the next two, McGregor bogied the fourth where Butwell's par four secured the title.

"It's the biggest tournament he's won," said his proud father. "During the prizewinning he just kept shaking his head. He couldn't believe it."

Butwell recently broke the course record at Romsey with a five-under-par 64. Then, in the same week, he retained the club championship with a new record 36-hole aggregate of 140.

Four years ago Butwell was a blossoming central defender in AFC Bournemouth's under-13 academy side. Then a knee problem, which has since cleared, ended his dreams.

But the teenager, who will captain Hampshire's under-18 golf team next year, has no regrets as he sets his sights on a career on the fairways.

Another top Hampshire prospect, Matt Buley from the Royal Winchester club, finished third in the Douglas John Trophy, a prestigious south east region junior competition.

Buley, like Butwell part of the England junior coaching set-up and an important member of Tommy Flynn's Hampshire under-18 squad, carded scores of 71 and 73 on the rolling fairways of Harewood Downs in Buckinghamshire.