MINUTES after completing his English Literature GCSE, Luke Bartram was on a golf course winning the Lancashire Schools’ Golf Champion trophy.
Luke, a Year 11 student at Haslingden High School, is now planning a future in golf and hopes to be starting a Level 3 course at Myerscough College, Garstang.
He said: “I finished my English Literature exam and went straight to Wilpshire where I did a 15 minute warm up and then started playing.
“I had a few really close approaches; shots that made birdies. At the end I was level par. I was not expecting to do so well, especially with just having the exam, and I didn’t think I had won.”
Luke was competing against 30 other under 18s from all over Lancashire.
He is currently 15, but has just earned a place on the Lancashire Under 18 team and will compete in his first match at West Derby on his 16th birthday at the end of June.
Last November Luke attended a four-day Junior European Open in the Costa del Sol in Spain. He won his place after a three way tie in a qualifying heat in Leicester.
Luke, from Irwell Vale said: “Playing golf in Spain was a lot different to playing in England. The grass is tighter; there is more grass on a smaller area and that makes it harder to play.
“It was a brilliant experience though and a really well organised event.”
He is a member of Rossendale Golf Club where he plays seniors and juniors having first tried golf when he was 11.
Luke was runner up in the Lancashire Boys under 18 Championship against 55 competitors.
In August, Luke, Harry Lord, Kean Erwin and Sam Bailey will compete in the England National Team Finals in Oxfordshire.
Luke added: “When you play a round of golf it is a really nice day and there is also a good social side to golf and a great atmosphere.
“There is also lots of sportsmanship and it keeps you fit because most golf courses are at least three-and-a-half miles when you have walked round.
“My parents think it is brilliant and have always been very supportive.”
Luke is hoping to become a professional golfer.