Welsh Golf will have five players to support in Major action this week for the first time in many years, with the Golf Union of Wales sending best wishes to the products of their system.
With the calendar changes because of the Olympics the US PGA and the Ricoh Women’s British Open are being played at the same time on either side of the Atlantic, with Bradley Dredge and Jamie Donaldson competing in America while Amy Boulden, Becky Morgan and Lydia Hall are in action in Woburn.
“We wish all five players success this week and we will be following their progress with interest,” said Golf Union of Wales chief executive Richard Dixon. “It is certainly rare for a small nation like Wales to have five players competing in Majors at the same time and of course all five players have come through our system and represented Wales with distinction at amateur level.
“Having all these players competing on the world stage is very helpful for Welsh golf, it shows the players coming through the system now that they can follow in those footsteps if they show the same dedication.
“Lydia Hall is still involved in our New2Golf programme, encouraging women and girls to take up the sport and recently played a key part in a successful clinic at Pyle and Kenfig Golf Club.
“Hopefully that helped to inspire her own game as then she made history by beating the men to become the first woman to win a PGA national title when she won the Welsh PGA, as well as getting into the Open through final qualifying.
“Amy Boulden has not had the season she would have hoped for but has a good record in the British Open, top 10 last year, and she has been hugely important in supporting our women and girls schemes as a Golf Development Wales ambassador giving a lot back to Welsh golf.
“Becky Morgan is in seventh place in the European rankings and a tied third finish in Scotland last week, so she is one of the form players going into the event.
“We expect to see Jamie Donaldson in all the top events, but it is good to see a return to form for Bradley Dredge which has seen him rise to 26 on the European Tour rankings.
“It means he is competing in a Major championship in America for the first time since 2007 after some struggles with injury in between. They are all fantastic role models and we hope they can do well this week.”
The Golf Union of Wales www.golfunionwales.org
Golf Development Wales www.golfdevelopmentwales.org.