Eddie Pepperell is targeting a place in amateur golf's top 200 after making a promising start to the year.

The 17-year-old Drayton Park member finished tied 14th in the Portuguese Amateur and lost in the semi-finals of the Spanish Amateur in successive weeks.

These were Pepperell's first tournament outings of 2008 and left him in positive mood.

"I worked very hard this winter on everything, so I was quite confident about this year," he said.

"But I was very pleased to be successful in my first two events.

"I want to break into the top 200 in the world rankings, that's my biggest aim."

Pepperell (pictured) climbed to 362 following his performances in Portugal and Spain and he is now preparing for the Bernard Darwin Salver at Rye, Sussex.

The Portuguese Amateur saw Pepperell finish on six-over-par after four rounds at the tricky Estela links course.

He said: "I didn't play great, so I was quite pleased to get a top-15 finish."

In the Spanish Amateur at Pals on the Costa Brava, the top 32 players from a field of 120 qualified for the main matchplay event.

Pepperell qualified in tenth and won three rounds before losing 3 & 2 to Spain's Jordi Garcia Pinto.

He said: "This is one of the biggest events in amateur golf, so I was delighted to finish where I did."