South Hams student Lorna Elliott teed her way into a national adult golf competition even though she is only 15.

Lorna, 15, who attends Dartmouth Academy, first started playing golf with her grandparents at Dartmouth Golf and Country Club in 2007.

She showed great promise and has been impressing her playing colleagues at the club ever since.

Lorna has benefited from a partnership between the golf club and the academy, in which students who show talent or enthusiasm for golf have been spending Tuesday evenings at the club working on their skills with the DGCC professional.

This year alone Lorna has won the Neasham Salver and the Norton Salver  –  awards for the best golfer with a handicap at different competitions.

Then, on May 20, she qualified for the regional finals for ladies at the Royal North Devon Golf Club – England's oldest – and competed against 90 other ladies, representing Dartmouth Golf and Country Club.

At the end of her round she ended up with a net 75 and eighth out of 90. This qualified her for the English Women's Golf Association Grand Medal Final in Worcestershire on June 24.

Despite being her first national final, travelling without her family to the competition and being the youngest competitor, Lorna finished 22nd out of 57 and was delighted with her performance.

'I was really looking forward to it but I was also a bit nervous because I was away from my family for the first time,' she said.

'I came in with a net 78 and was really pleased with my performance.

'I hope to progress in my golf and have a job in the golf industry or become a professional and play golf on television.

'The academy has supported me through the Tuesday night training sessions, staff coming to see me compete and giving great support, for which I'm very grateful. But most of all I'd like to say thank you to my family and everyone who has supported me and helped me to get this far.

'I would especially like to thank my grandparents. If it wasn't for them I wouldn't have even taken up the sport and be achieving the things I am today.'

Academy sports teacher Steff Morby said: 'We are really pleased to see how well Lorna is doing at her golf. She did so well to get to the nationalfinal and then to finish with a good score in the top half of the final standings was wonderful for her.

'We aim to support our students' sporting aspirations as much as possible, and our golf sessions are proving very popular. Lorna is an inspiration to other students and we are very proud of her.'