THE season starts now for Malton & Norton golfer David Hague as the teenager sets his sights on Open glory tomorrow.

The 19-year-old took the second half of last season by storm, winning the York Union of Golf Clubs' Junior Championship before sweeping his elders aside in a Yorkshire Order of Merit event at Sand Moor and then claiming the York Union Matchplay title.

Now he goes to Pike Hills GC aiming to scoop another big union crown as the Tadcaster Road course hosts the York Open Championship.

The two round tournament sees the region's best amateur players go up against the professionals and was won last year, at The Oaks, by Fulford's Jamie Miller.

Hague, fourth then, has had a quiet start to the 2015 campaign but bolted into life last week when tying the amateur course record at Malton after shooting 65 in a stableford.

He is now insistent that it is time for him to put some scores together as he bids to reduce his handicap to +2 by the end of the year.

"I have had a few results that could have been a few shots better but it's time to change it now," said Hague. "It's a big part of the season.

"It is a good field. There are a few pros playing and, if I can beat them, there's only one or two that I need to beat.

"You have got to start your season somewhere and it is time to start it now. I will keep on working hard and there's no reason why I can't win and we will see how it goes."

Eight-time York Amateur champion Martin Brown will be the undisputed favourite on his home course but 2013 winner Mark Winterburn also has designs on a third title.

The Forest Park professional won his first York Open crown at Pike Hills when an assistant professional at Heworth in 1992 and can boast a top five finish in this year's Yorkshire PGA Championship at Mid Yorkshire Golf Club in June.

A self-confessed fan of the course, he said: "I always go into competitions hopeful. I have been playing okay just lately - fairly steady - and have been holing a few putts. I like Pike Hills. That's was where I won the York Open the first time round.

"There are some good players these days - young players - and they seem to be getting better. I am one of the older ones now.

"Pike Hills is renowned for how tricky their greens are and, depending on how kind the greenkeepers are on the day, that could determine who shoots what.

"Short game will be the key and that's the main thing I have been focusing on."

Winterburn also believes Fulford club champion Damon Coulson is one of the main contenders. He added: "I played with Damon last year and I was massively impressed with how easy he made the game look - the distance he can hit the ball.

"If he holes a few putts it is scary what kind of scores he could shoot.

"Martin Brown has been around for a long time and won eight amateurs. Pike Hills is his home club and I think he will be the benchmark. He will be the one to beat."

He continued: "When you play in events like that, against the quality of field that was competing, I was quite pleased to finish where I did at the Yorkshire PGA. The guys who finished above me, some of them had played in Open Championships and been European Tour players.

"To be up there, in and around the prizes, with those kind of guys does fill you with confidence."