Having only turned out to get some experience, Emily Linn was as surprised as anyone to walk away with a prestigious title at the spiritual home of golf, St. Andrews.

The 12-year-old from Pembroke, a member of Belmont Golf Club, had not anticipated making the first round proper of the Junior Ladies Open Quaich Trophy last week.

But make it she did, and from there she swept all before her to take the championship at one of the most famous courses in the world.

The remarkable week began last Monday when Linn and 59 other girls from all over the world played a qualifying round at the nearby Strathtyrum links course.

The 16 players with the lowest gross scores went on to the matchplay finals to compete for the St. Andrews Junior Ladies Open Championship, while the eight players with the lowest net scores qualified for the Quaich Trophy.

Linn shot a personal best round of 82 - net 61 - in the qualifier to place third in the seedings for the Quaich. This guaranteed her a quarter-final match on the Old Course last Wednesday.

She was pitted against 22-year-old Kelly Morley of Astbury, England, a former finalist and 13 handicapper compared to Linn's 21 handicap.

Playing off the ladies' tees, the Old Course is 6,032 yards long and has a par of 76.

Linn played what she believed was the best golf of her short life to shoot an 82, including two birdies on the front nine.

That was enough to win the match against her fancied opponent four and two.

Next up was Eleana Collins from Hong Kong on Thursday morning in the last four.

This match was a much tighter affair with Linn missing opportunities on the 15th and 16th holes to close out the game.

She then lost the 17th but still one-up going to the last, she first hit a fine drive and then a terrific second shot saw her within 20 feet of the pin with three putts in hand. She sank the ball in two and marched on to the final.

The climax to the competition was played on the same day and Linn found herself up against Carly Booth, aged ten, of Comrie, Scotland.

The final was a fairly even affair through the front nine with Linn making the turn one-up.

However, the Bermudian's length and accuracy off the tee on the difficult inward half of the round put real pressure on her opponent and, despite missing one or two makeable putts, she was able to come away with an impressive five and three triumph.

“I was very pleased. Not many people get to play on the course,” said Linn on her return to the Island. “It's an honour to play even once, so to play three times was great.

“To get to the final was very rewarding. I had talked to some of the competitors who had played (Booth) and they had said she was very good and was very determined to win the tournament.

“I was just going for the experience and had not expected to qualify, so it was a big shock for me to win.”

Linn's father, Peter, said it had been a week of “magical images and memories”.

“To walk, as champion, up to the 18th green at St. Andrews amongst all the applause from the spectators and onlookers will be a source of inspiration for her in every one of her future competitions,” he said.