Thirty-one young golfers from all over Europe competed in the Royal Malta Golf Club’s biennial International Junior Golf Tournament, sponsored by HSBC and Hercules Tires.

The third edition of this tournament featured three categories: girls, boys and boys under-13. The top-ranked player was Lorenzo Magagnin (hcp +1.3) from Italy, who is 1,534th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, while the youngest participant was seven-year-old Mattia Parrini (hcp 35.2), also from Italy.

The tournament began with a Longest Drive Competition. It was won by Nicholas Schild, of Muswell Hill Golf Club in London, who produced an impressive 272-yard drive, followed by Valerio Rossi, from Marco Simone Golf Club, in Rome, and Maria de Sousa, from Portugal.

The boys category was won by Magagnin followed closely by Quint van Beek. The girls competition went to Federica Failli who finished off with an impressive birdie on the last hole.

Mia Allsopp claimed the runner-up spot with two steady rounds. Laurens von Canal won the boys under-13 title while Oliver Stuart took the runner-up prize on a count-back from Pier Paolo Monaco.

“There was some very good golf on display from the talented youngsters who were clearly enjoying themselves,” RMGC captain David Debono said.

“Most importantly the tournament yet again provided junior golfers with the opportunity to learn and compete with international golfers while forging valuable friendships in the process.”