The gifted 13-year-old shot a 75 off the stick at the hilly Parkes lay-out, holding off James Grierson from Forbes by a shot and proving he could handle the pressure of a close contest in the dying holes.

Scott’s father Norm Matheson, also the Bathurst junior golf co-ordinator, was on the course during the closing stages and said he handled the situation well after being made aware of what he needed to shoot to claim the win.

“He was in the third group out, James Grierson was in the first so he lost ground on them and didn’t really know how James was going,” Norm Matheson said.

“I knew with one to play that he needed a par four to win but I didn’t tell him that – then a couple of the other kids came out and told him anyway!

“He played it very well, he probably should have even birdied it after he put his approach within six feet, but he did what he had to do and hung on.”

The victory at Parkes came on the back of his selection in the Western Secondary Schools team who will be contesting the state titles at the end of June in Dubbo.

Scott Matheson will line up alongside Andrew Best and Jack Delaney of Mudgee and Hayden Sealey of Condobolin. An indicator of just how well he is playing is the fact that he doesn’t turn 14 until June and the others in the team are all 16 or older.

He has also been selected to spend three days at a camp in Narrabeen on Sydney’s Northern Beaches at a NSW talent identification camp.

“He’s playing pretty well at the moment, he shot 74 around Bathurst last week and although he came a bit of a cropper on the weekend just gone, you have to have those rounds once in a while,” Matheson senior said.

The Bathurst juniors in general have had a strong few weeks, with Scott Matheson also winning the under 13s division of the Lithgow Junior Open with 80 off the stick, while Blake Arthur won the under 14s handicap at the same event.

Arthur also claimed the division two handicap title in Parkes last Sunday week.

Dylan Thompson was another Bathurst talent to taste success, winning the overall handicap championship at the Wentworth Falls Junior Open on May 1.