TWO young golfers will "putt" their stamina to the test when they take part in an all-day golfathon for charity.

Lee Borrowdale, 16 and Liam Caygill, 11, will raise funds for Comic Relief spin-off Sports Relief, which helps children in the UK and abroad and is supported by top athletes such as five-times Olympic gold medal winner Steve Redgrave.

The youngsters will be joined by The Northern Echo's sports writer, Tim Wellock, and GlaxoSmithKline worker Richard Naseby for the challenge at Barnard Castle Golf Club next Monday.

Lee, who has just taken his GCSEs at Teesdale School in Barnard Castle, has a handicap of nine, and has been playing for more than eight years.

His friend, Liam, has been playing golf for almost three years and already plays off a handicap of 30.

The pair, who play every Sunday in a junior competition at the club, were introduced to the game by their grandfathers and spend most of their school holidays practising with friends.

Remarkably, both have had a hole-in-one. Liam became the youngest player at the club to achieve the feat when just ten years old.

His mother, Anne, said: "It's going to be a very tough challenge, because they tee off at about five o'clock in the morning, and will be playing all day.

"So far, he hasn't received a great deal of sponsorship, but hopefully that will pick up because it is a for a very good cause and both the lads are determined to raise as much money as possible for a very worthy cause."

The four players expect to walk about 18 miles in total and are aiming to finish all four rounds by around 9pm.

Anyone wishing to sponsor the golfathon can send a cheque made out to Sports Relief, to Barnard Castle Golf Club, Harmire Road, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8QN.

For further details on how to make a donation, contact the club on (01833) 631980.