A TEE-RRIFIC young golfer who pulled off a tremendous local treble has quit school to pursue his dream of a professional golfing career.
Callum Watters is celebrating a par-fect season which saw him take home the junior titles at both Greenock and Gourock, as well as the Greenock & District junior championship.
The 16-year-old hopes to follow in the footsteps of his PGA professional father Derek, who he regularly caddies for.
Callum, a former pupil at Notre Dame High, decided not to go back to school for his final year so that he could hone his golfing skills.
The talented teen hopes to study professional golf or golf management at university next year through a special course based near the world-renowned Royal Dornoch Golf Club.
He said: "The ideal job for me would be going into coaching or fitness while also playing Scottish PGA events.
"I left Notre Dame this year and I'm basically playing full-time at the moment.
"I've got the results I need to get into uni this year but I'm too young to go really.
"Leaving school was a bit scary - I've no regrets now, but the first week was hard when my pals were back at school and I wasn't doing anything.
"But I've kicked on since then and I'm doing well now.
"The last couple of weeks have been amazing, having the freedom to play golf and spend time with my dad has been incredible.
"I'm getting to do things I would never have been able to do at school."
The youngster, who plays off a handicap of five, told the Telegraph that winning the championship at Gourock had been the high point of his successful season.
Callum said: "Retaining the junior championship at Gourock for this year was special.
"I'm the junior captain there and my closest competitor was my wee brother.
"It's getting to the point where I'm getting closer to competing with my dad, which is something I could never think about before.
"I've started playing gents competitions whenever I can to see how far up the leaderboard I can get.
"I've had a lot of support from members at Greenock and Gourock, it's been great."
Callum currently spends most days playing out on the course or caddying for his dad.
He says that spending time around him and other professional golfers played a big part in his decision to chase his dreams.
He said: "This year my dad has had some great finishes in top competitions and I really look up to him.
"I enjoy being committed to golf, I had a wee bit of natural ability but I've had to work at it.
"The plan next year is to go and play some of the junior tour Scotland stuff and some of the Stephen Gallacher Foundation competitions.
"It's a great chance to compete against people who are better and have been doing this for a while.
"I've spent the last two years grinding away on it, in summer I'm up every day and my mum's always driving me about to compete.
"I can feel the reward for what I'm putting in with it."
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