Claire Aitken has spoken of her delight at securing a place on this year's European Ladies Tour.

The 22-year-old from Longfield, who is a member of Mid-Kent Golf Club along with her father Doug and older brother Mark, finished in joint 26th place in Final Qualifying at La Manga last week – with the top 30 after the four rounds earning their full Tour playing card.

Aiken recorded a four-over-par total of 296 after keeping her nerve to shoot a one-over 74 in last Thursday’s final round.

She said: “I tried not to think about my score, just to keep concentrating on my game.”

Aiken was helped to keep calm by her boyfriend and caddie, Daniel Waite, who is an assistant professional at Mid-Kent.

Claire, who works at Gravesend Golf Centre, hopes to make her first appearance on the European Tour at the Turkey Women’s Open in Antalya from May 7-10.

A member of Mid-Kent since she was 11 years old, Aiken added: “I decided a couple of years ago that I wanted to turn pro and to achieve it at my first appearance at Tour School is fantastic.”