Phew! That was close

Bugden (left) and Pugh in playoff

Rhys Pugh, aged 11, from South Wales and 15-year-old Alice Ruane from Derbyshire, emerged as winners of

The Times & Sunday Times EA Sports YMG Masters at La Manga Resort in Spain.

Twenty-four boys and girls, aged from six to 16 won their way through to a four-day final in Murcia and produced breathtaking golf on the resort’s South Course.

While Alice topped the girls' category with a one hole advantage in the flag competition, where each competitor completes as many holes and distance as possible before using up the shots on their handicaps, it took a two-hole playoff to separate Rhys from eight-year-old Billy-Joe Bugden from Wiltshire.

Girls winner Alice Ruane

Both finished on the 19th hole and then went head-to-head in fading light. They parred the first extra hole but on the next, Billy-Joe’s swing was hampered with his approach to the next green and Rhys took the title when his second shot finish just four feet from the hole to retain his title.

Third place went to seven year old Maxwell Martin, who finished at the 18th green.

In the girls' category, as Alice was taking top spot there was a four-way tussle for the runners-up position. Hannah Turland (aged 10) and Emma Naughton (14) eventually shared it ahead of Sophie Godley (10) and Kyra Horlock (9).

The tournament began back in August with 1,100 competitors at 12 regional qualifying tournaments around the UK and Ireland, followed by a National Final at the Celtic Manor Resort in October, where the top 24 youngsters qualified for the finals.

Hannah Turland – runner-up

Results

Girls: 1. Alice Ruane (Chesterfield), 2. Hannah Turland (Mark Ingram Golf School) and Emma Naughton (Leyland), 4. Sophie Godley (Barlborough Links), 5. Kyra Horlock (Ferndown Forest), 6. Amy Furze (Chesterfield), 7. Fay Carpenter (Dorset Golf & CC), 8. Lucy Goddard (Nazeing), 9. Nicola Rawlinson (Leyland), 10. Olivia Winning (Barlborough Links), 11. Jamie-Leigh Casling (The Kendleshire), 12. Imogen Huxley (Rutland County).

Boys: 1. Rhys Pugh (The Ridgeway Golf Club), 2. Billy-Joe Bugden (Hamptworth GC), 3. Maxwell Martin (Copt Heath), 4. Daffyd Williams (The Ridgeway), 5. Neil McKinstry (Cairndhu GC), 6. Greg Roostan (Drayton Park), 7. Callum Woodgate (Waterlooville) 8. Gareth Owen (Cairndhu GC), 9. Lee Wilson (Rivenhall Oaks), 10. Darren McClelland (Cairndhu GC), 11. Ross Mohan (Deer Park, Dublin) 12. Jay Gauld (The Hampshire).