A talented young golfer from East Lancashire is celebrating an incredible achievement after competing in the World Junior Golf Championship.
Ritchie Riley, seven, from Briercliffe, attended the world championship competition run by the British Junior Golf Tour, in Portugal.
Competing against the best young golfers across the world, Ritchie made Burnley proud by finishing joint fifth with another player.
Speaking about how proud Ritchie’s family are, his dad, Kev Riley, said: "We went there with little or no expectation. We just wanted Ritchie to enjoy it as he worked so hard in the off season."
"We flew out a day early and the practice round went really well.
"Ritchie got sixth place on the first day which we were super happy with, but some stellar names in junior golf were in the chasing pack. The next two days were certainly a mental and physical challenge for our seven year old boy!"
The end result was a tied 5th finish for Riley which means he has qualified for the World Championship in Marbella next year.
Ritchie thanked his clothing sponsor, Burnley-based business Scandi Workwear UK, his coach Paul Mcevoy, Wez and the team at Burnley Leisure for allowing Ritchie to use the facilities at Prairie Sports Village, and Mrs Healey and the team at St John’s CofE Primary School for all of their support.
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