Oliver Reddick survived two out of bounds in a one over par 73 to win the Sussex under-15s championship at East Brighton.

Retaining his composure, Reddick went on to eagle the 498-yard 15th and finished with a birdie to edge the title by one stroke.

The championship, with an entry of 63, is an important threshold in county golf and Reddick is a name to watch as he was under-14s winner last year.

It cannot have escaped attention of county officials that Bognor has supplied the under-15s champion for the second time in three years following Ollie Turnill's success in 2001.

More than the golf was under scrutiny at East Brighton. Colin Wells, the Sussex captain, nodded approvingly: "I thought it was exceptional all told in that the way the boys all played and some were not afraid to hand in cards of three figures.

"It was nice to see the attention to etiquette, manners and dress in an age of yob culture There is nothing wrong with the youth of Sussex when you see lads like this. It was also nice to see the dads there. I think we have a good team coming along for the future."

A five handicap at Bognor, Reddick first encountered trouble at the 553-yard fifth. He never found a pulled drive despite a frantic search by dad Steve who acted as caddie.

There was no choice but to trudge back to the tee and reload which cost him a seven and an outward half of 37.

The driver misbehaved again at the 11th when a cut took him out of bounds. A bogey with the provisional ball was obtained after a recovery from sand finished almost dead.

A two-iron from the tee at the 15th left him ideally placed just off the green and a bunt with a nine-iron dropped for an eagle and Reddick was happy to sign-off with a birdie.

A 15-year-old at St Philip Howard, Barnham, Reddick has been playing since he was 10 and his dad is junior organiser at Bognor.

Runner-up Dan Helyer slipped-up with a bunkered tee shot at the short fourth and three putts cost him a five but he powered back with birdies at eight, 11 and 12. Another eye-catching performance came from Joel Newsome, son of ex-county player John. Joel, whose handicap is 14, had a gross 75 and took the handicap prize with something of a flourish.

Since the Dick George Trophy was inaugurated in 1991 four winners have become professionals but looking that far into the future was not a subject for discussion at East Brighton although some of the golf was well up to standard.