Wrexham Juniors Secure National Title in Style
WREXHAM claimed the Welsh Junior Inter Club Championship, with PGA professional Sam Griffiths helping coach them to victory 18 years after he was part of the club’s successful junior team.
Griffiths has overseen a return to the strength of Wrexham juniors, from a handful of players to more than 140 involved in the Under 18’s section, with a return to the winner’s circle at national level as one of the results.
The Championship was successfully hosted at Builth Wells, with Seren Ramsey and George Elwin leading the way for Wrexham with 39 Stableford points, Cai Griffiths, Jac Rate, and Jacob Holmes also scoring heavily to secure an 11-point victory, Spencer Rolfe the player whose score was not included.
Llantrisant and Pontyclun finished in second place, with Haverfordwest in third and hosts Builth Wells in fourth place.
A Proud Moment for Wrexham
“This is absolutely brilliant,” said Wrexham’s PGA professional, Griffiths.
“Wrexham is fortunate that we have a lot of juniors aged 15-18, so we had some experienced players who have been involved in this for the last few years and a couple of newbies.
“It is great to have the chance to compete in this national event. Being based in North Wales, there are limited opportunities to compete against other clubs, so this competition is a massive opportunity for us to compete and represent the club.
“Junior organiser Wesley Rolfe has also played a big role, and it means a lot to the club and the members.
“In the last eight years, the junior section has grown from a handful of kids to more than 140 juniors, which is fantastic.
“It is great to see how competitive it is to get into the team and represent the club. I pride myself on being there for the juniors and building a relationship with their parents, while the golf club is very welcoming as well.
“Wrexham have not won this for a while. I was in the side that won under Paul Williams as the club pro. He is now one of the Wales Golf national coaches, and I was lucky enough to train under him as a PGA professional.
“Then I moved to Clays, and one of the reasons I came back to Wrexham was to help grow the junior section, so to get to the point where we are now as the best team in Wales is very pleasing.
“The PING Junior Tour has been really good for us to help players come through the ranks. Hopefully, this will inspire some of those players involved in that this year to try to break into the Juniors team for next year.”
Recognition from Wales Golf
Wales Golf competitions co-ordinator, Rebecca Hawke, added:
“Congratulations to Wrexham for such an impressive performance, taking them from second last year to winning this time around.
“Also, thanks to Builth Wells staff and volunteers for helping make this such a successful championship.
“It is the last event of a busy season for Wales Golf where we have crowned champions at all levels of the game around Wales.
“Those competitions have ranged from elite amateur players through to club handicap players, from the Under 8’s on the PING Welsh Junior Tour through to the seniors.
“As always, we will spend the winter reviewing our competitions and planning for next year with the aim to make them even bigger and better.”
