Ace Galliford is top boy in South Wales Championship

BORTH & Ynyslas youngster Zach Galliford sunk a hole-in-one on his way to winning the South Wales Boys’ Strokeplay Championship at Llandrindod Wells yesterday.

The event, which also acted as the qualifier for the Matchplay Championship, which started today and finishes tomorrow, was reduced from 36 holes to 18 due to adverse weather conditions.

Play was suspended for two hours because of heavy mist on the course and when players resumed their first round it was decided the second 18 holes would be scrapped.

So, with a one-under-par 68, Galliford took the title by two strokes from Pennard’s Oliver Dickson with three golfers posting rounds of 71. Celtic Manor’s Joe du Feu took third place on countback.

The top 16 players qualified for the matchplay event with Galliford taking on Celtic Manor’s Jake Darlington, Dickson facing John Luke Williams of Southerndown and du Feu squaring up against Hallamshire’s Greg Tickell.

While Galliford succeeded Otto Mand as the strokeplay champion, all 16 qualifiers are bidding to follow in the footsteps of Jack Bush, matchplay champion in 2011.