A golf-mad youngster is celebrating after he became a junior world champion.

Elijah Gibbons, from Sandwich, won in the under-7 category at the 2023 World Junior Golf Championship, run by the British Junior Golf Tour, at the Amendoeira resort in the Algarve, Portugal.

Competing against 16 of the best young golfers, including players from Thailand, Slovakia and Italy, Gibbons came out on top.

He won the three-day competition by two shots - and it was left to dad Sam Gibbons to present him with the good news last Thursday at the last hole, with video footage of the memorable moment captured by mum Charlotte.

“It was an amazing moment,” said Sam.

“I didn’t really know my wife had got it on film!

“It’s difficult at that age. You, sometimes, wonder if he’s aware of the enormity of what he’s doing.

"We didn’t tell him how he was doing. So when he putted on the last hole, he looked at me and I told him he was world champion.

“He burst into tears and we had an embrace on the green.”

The competition was played over three nine-hole rounds.

Sam said: “It’s just been a whirlwind.

“First day, he was 10 over and thought he was out of the competition, but parred the last three holes.

“Second day, he shot 1 over. For a seven-year-old, that’s crazy.

"He ended up winning by two shots.”

Gibbons, seven, now qualifies for the Callaway Junior Championships and the Under Armour Junior Championships - both to be held this July in the United States.

He started playing golf at an early age.

“He literally picked up a small plastic club when he was about 14 months old,” explained his dad.

“He has been swinging ever since!

“He will stand in front of the TV, swinging, or do some putting.

“I don’t know why, but he’s obsessed. I come back from work and he just goes: ‘Range, Range’.

“He actually plays off the men’s tees.”

Gibbons is a member of Prince’s Golf Club, where he gets plenty of support.

Sam said: “They saw his talent early on.

"They’re, obviously, all very proud as well, which is great. They’re really supportive.

“Everyone cannot wait to see him and give him a big hug.”

There’s two players Gibbons looks up to in particular.

“Tiger Woods is his favourite,” revealed Sam.

“We have not been able to watch him out there, so he wants to see how Tiger is doing.

“And he likes Rory McIlroy as well.”

Gibbons’ golfing journey can be followed on Instagram at @biggie_the_bomber_gibbons.

Fellow Prince’s Golf Club player Caleb Twyman claimed a sixth-placed finish in the under-10 category at the same competition.