Four years ago a thirteen year old member of the Vale of Glamorgan golf club travelled up to North Wales to play in the Clwyd Championships at Wrexham and Prestatyn golf clubs. Regular readers of this column will know that the event is over seventy two holes of thirty six each day at each of the two clubs, played off the championship tees, with pin position set out to test the majority of category one players to the limit.
He won by ten strokes from some of the best in the principality and elsewhere and won again for good measure in 2010.
Last Sunday, now seventeen, Rhys Pugh wrote himself a chapter in the history of the Walker cup by being the youngest player in both sides competing in the event, and won three points out of three with supreme confidence and suitable modesty. When interviewed by Hazel Irvine for the B.B.C coverage of the event from Royal Aberdeen, Rhys was almost embarrassed at his own success as he replied to her questions.
The first day foursomes did not include Rhys, but he played in the afternoon singles, the Sunday morning foursomes and the final afternoon singles winning all three encounters with steady golf and mastery of extreme conditions that belied his tender years.
Welsh golf is in good hands!
Wrexham hosted their September medal which featured an overall win for past captain Fred Whitehead with 87 – 21 – 66. He was hotly pursued by Llew Vaughan Humphreys on 82 – 15 – 67, a score replicated by Robert P Williams with exactly the same numbers but ranked on the back nine holes scores.
Matthew Roberts secured fourth place with 77 – 9 – 68 with Alyn Torrence in fifth position with 68 – 0 – 68 and a handicap on now +0.6.
Junior Captains day witnessed a best gross for India Friswell with a 73 whist the boy’s prize winner was Rob Keenan on net 64 from Sam Postle as runner up on 65.
Six handicap Jessica Jones took the girls prize with net 70 from Ellie Waters on 76.
The forthcoming Inter County championships takes place at Borth and Ynyslas next Sunday with five of the six selected Denbighshire players coming from the ranks of the Wrexham elite.
Kevin Matthias, Alyn Torrence, Rod Fieldhouse, Ashley Griffiths and Jamie Durkin will be joined by Josh Lloyd of the Abergele club for a practice round on Saturday 17th and then two medal rounds on Sunday. We wish them well.
Finally this week the Ladies medal final resulted in a win for Jean Jones with net 73 from runner up Mary Bainbridge on net 75.
The Ladies’ Stableford final went to Kath Norman with 36 points followed by Bea Evans on 31.