One final chance to stake Wales claims
SOME of Wales’ best men’s amateurs will tee it up at The Duke’s, St Andrews, this morning looking to seize one final opportunity to impress the national selectors.
The Scottish Open Stroke Play Championship is the last event on the Welsh Order of Merit tournament schedule for 2019.
And, crucially, it comes ahead of the Wales team announcement for the Home Internationals which will be made next Tuesday ahead of this year’s edition which is being staged at Lahinch in Ireland between September 11-13.
The top four finishers in the OOM earn automatic selection for that 11-man team with Jacob Davies – winner of the Duncan Putter (joint) and Aberconwy Trophy titles this year – in pole position to finish to top of the pile and succeed 2018 OOM winner Jake Hapgood.
Ben Chamberlain and Lewys Sanges, second and third respectively, will also look to have their own spots on the team signed and sealed early come Sunday evening, while Gaelan Trew and Rhys Evans can also still bag themselves an automatic spot should they do well.
Tom Froom, Oliver Brown, Matt Roberts, Aled Greville and Daniel Lloyd are among the other Welshmen looking to make an impact of their own among a 144-strong field.
Also on the start sheet is newlycrowned Welsh Open Stroke Play champion Andrew Davidson – who will be looking to complete a win double on home soil this weekend.
Davidson, 25, who works in the family fishing licences business, landed the biggest catch of his golfing career last weekend when he overcame the elements and a strong field to triumph at Prestatyn.
After bad weather forced the event to be reduced from 72 to 54 holes, Davidson eventually got the better of fellow Scot Stephen Roger on the second play-off hole after they both finished on a four-under par total of 212.
Chamberlain and Hapgood were the best Welsh performers on twoover par (218) and six strokes back in a tie for eighth.
It means the wait for a first home winner of the event since Rhys Pugh back in 2013 goes on.
In other news, reigning Welsh Amateur champion Archie Davies has this week been named in the Great Britain & Ireland team that will go up against the Continent of Europe for the Jacques Léglise Trophy at Aldeburgh GC in Suffolk at the end of the month.
Davies is a part of a nine-strong GB&I team who will be defending the trophy they won back at Kytäjä Golf in Finland last year. Davies, 18, is one of five members of that triumphant side who return this time.
The two-day contest will be played on Friday and Saturday, August 30-31.