Young golf stars Lisa and Leona Maguire

Lisa Maguire, from County Cavan, beat off more than 800 competitors from 30 countries to become the new under-12 world champion.

Her sister Leona came joint third in the prestigious competition at Pinehurst in North Carolina.

Lisa finished eight under par, racing ahead of the field to win the world title five shots clear of competition favourite, Arizona girl Julie Yang.

The twins, who are coached by Shaun Donnelly at Castle Hume/Lough Erne golf club in Enniskillen, showed off their silverware after arriving home from the United States on Wednesday.

The twins believe in plenty of practice

The new champion said their success had been the result of much hard work.

"We went out there hoping to do well, we just keep plugging away at it and, hopefully, our work paid off," she said.

"There's a great enjoyment out of it and you get to travel all over the world playing different competitions and seeing different places.

"There's a great buzz when you hit a good shot or putt the ball into the hole."

Many members of the Enniskillen club expected the twins to do well in the seventh under-12 world championships.

Their coach, Shaun Donnelly, said he was "not at all surprised" by their success in the US.

"I knew there would be very stiff competition over there, competition they would never have seen before.

"It's really how they react against those people there, and they reacted fantastically."