Young golfers will remember tragic Dan at presentation night

Dan, who died suddenly at West Worthing railway station last Thursday aged just 18, played a large part in helping the club win this year’s West Sussex League.

The success will be marked at this weekend’s function with a poignancy caused by his unexpected loss.

Ian Stoneham got to know Dan well in the two-and-a-half years he has been the club’s junior organiser.

“He was very much part of our team which travelled throughout Sussex. He was the vice-captain and played a big part in our winning the West Sussex League this year,” he said.

“That was quite an achievement and he was very much involved in it.

“It’s our Christmas dinner on Saturday. Dan worked incredibly hard and he would have been working in the evening. But he intended to take part in the Christmas competition in the afternoon and come along at night after his work.

“I will be calling the winning team down to the front to present them with the trophy they won. I’m also planning to re-present them with the Parsons Memorial Trophy, which they won earlier in the season.

“There will be pictures of the team with Dan at the times of their successes on show – that will be difficult. There will be about 80 people there on Saturday who will, obviously, be upset but we have to soldier on.”

Felpham resident Dan had been a member of the golf club for about four years. He represented Sussex at under-14 and under-16 level and won a prestigious cup at Rustington Golf Club where he also played. He’d played at Worthing as well.

“He was a nice lad and very popular. You could always rely on him to put a smile on everyone’s face when he turned up,” Mr Stoneham said.

“He had a lot of friends. He knew a lot of juniors at Worthing and Rustington golf clubs and, wherever he would go, he seemed to know most of the people.

“He never let me down. He would always tell me if he couldn’t do something.”

KEVIN SMITH