Where is Wales’ next male golf star coming from? Figure caption, Open Championship: Focus shifts in bid to produce stars as Wales misses out againByGareth VincentBBC Sport WalesPublished2 hours agoThe Open Championship returns this week to Royal Birkdale, scene of some of the finest moments in Welsh golfing history.But there will be no Welsh representation in the field as Britain’s men’s major gets under way on Thursday.It has been a familiar tale in recent years, with no Welsh player featuring at the Open since Oliver Farr came through qualifying in 2023.Wales’ recent Open record is miserable, while golf’s men’s world rankings do not make pretty reading from a Welsh perspective either.As it stands, Wales’ highest-placed player is 29-year-old Jack Davidson, who is ranked 953rd in the world.But at Wales Golf, the sport’s governing body, there is belief that better days are ahead.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Welsh golfers (left to right) Ian Woosnam, Dai Rees, Jamie Donaldson and Phillip Price all managed top-10 major finishes during their careers, with Woosnam winning the Masters in 1991Farr, 38, is the only Welsh player to feature in the Open – having done so in 2022 and 2023 – since Rhys Enoch qualified in 2018.Enoch is the most recent Welshman to make the cut, having finished 67th at Carnoustie.Wales has never produced an Open winner, though Dai Rees – with three – Dave Thomas – two – and Brian Huggett have six runner-up finishes between them and Ian Woosnam twice finished third, in 1986 and 2001.Birkdale was the scene of two of Rees’ near misses, in 1954 and 1961, while Huggett also finished second at the Southport course, in 1965.Yet this week, Wales’ golfers are left watching from afar, with Owen Edwards – the world number 1,474 – coming closest to making it through final qualifying last month only to miss out thanks to an ugly finish at Burnham & Berrow.For Gareth Jenkins, performance director at Wales Golf, the ultimate goal is to ensure Wales is much better represented at the top end of the sport.”My role is to look at the pathway, look at the players who are coming through, seeing where we can improve at each stage of that pathway and then trying to develop players for the future,” Jenkins mentioned.”We would absolutely love to see more Welsh representation both on the DP World Tour all the way through to the PGA Tour and major championships moving forwards.”Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Oliver Farr has played in two Open Championships, but missed out in final qualifying this yearJenkins, who spent a decade working for England Golf before moving across the border in 2024, oversees the development of junior players right through to those representing Wales at senior amateur level.He says the target for every golfer he works with is to prove through amateur success that they can progress to the professional game.In an attempt to ensure more make it, Jenkins says much of Wales Golf’s focus and investment has gone towards younger players, with new regional development programmes put in place over the last two years.”We’re seeing the fruits of that development coming through, [but] unfortunately, it does take time,” he added.”It is going to be another five or six years before we start to see some of those players moving forward into the pro ranks.”But saying that, we’ve had Darcey Harry who has made it on to the LET (Ladies European Tour) and got a win on the LET last year, and Luca Thompson, Ffion Tynan [have made the tour this year]. We also have some of the great players in the States coming through the pathway.
“So it’s possible – absolutely we can punch above our weight.”
