Friday 10 February 2012

Amateur ace backs talent search scheme

WELSH golf ace Rhys Pugh is backing a new venture designed to discover the stars of the future and encourage more youngsters to try the sport.

The new training scheme at the Vale Hotel is aimed at giving more young people the chance to take up golf and is open for boys and girls aged eight to 18.

Pugh, crowned Wales’s joint top amateur for 2011 along with Amy Boulden, started his career on the Vale resort’s junior coaching program a decade ago.

Ten years later and the 18-year-old is studying at East Tennessee University in the USA where he is already the number one player in the golf team and competes on the tough US collegiate golf tour.

“The teaching and encouragement I received from instructors at the Vale all those years ago has been invaluable grounding for my career so far,” said the Pontypridd teenager.

“Unfortunately, golf has traditionally been seen as a game for older men, where time is spent on the fairway discussing business matters. However following the Ryder Cup in Wales, this stereotype has been changing as younger people are becoming increasingly interested in the sport.

“I hope the Vale’s new scheme will harness this renewed interest young people are showing for golf, and encourage more young people to follow in my footsteps by picking up a club and getting out on to the green.”

Pugh list of honors in the game continues to grow and last September he won all three of his matches in the Walker Cup as Great Britain and Ireland beat the USA at Royal Aberdeen.

He also holds the record as the youngest player to represent Wales, something he achieved in the 2009 Home Internationals at the age of 15.

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